Trump Administration Drafts Post-War Middle East Strategy Focused on Iran Containment

According to Axios, the Trump administration is drafting a post-war Middle East strategy centered on a regional effort to contain Iran and expand normalization between Israel and its neighbors. The plan is still in early stages and is intended to guide the U.S. approach after the Iran war ends and through the final two years of President Trump's term. The strategy work is being handled at both the senior political level and across agencies, and Trump has held two meetings in recent weeks with senior advisers to discuss ideas, according to sources. The White House declined to comment. Sources said three possible elements have been raised: building a regional alignment among U.S. allies to contain Iran with the U.S. as guarantor; pushing to advance Trump's Gaza plan, a security agreement between Israel and Syria, and the Israel-Lebanon agreement; and expanding the Abraham Accords, including a Saudi-Israeli normalization deal. The administration also hopes any new Israeli government formed after the Oct. 27 elections will cooperate, though some officials said Trump would push ahead regardless of the outcome. A source briefed on the process said it will take another few weeks to draft the strategy.