Trump to prioritize hostage release, pressure on Iran, Saudi peace deal, says Mideast adviser

The new president still actively wants to achieve peace in the region, says new Middle East adviser Massad Boulos.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

President-elect Donald Trump is still interested in achieving peace in the Middle East using ideas from his first administration, such as putting maximum pressure on Iran and expanding the Abraham Accords, but the first order of business is to free the 101 Hamas hostages, his new Middle East adviser said in an interview Tuesday.

Speaking to French paper Le Point, Massad Boulos said, “The president believes that the hostages must be released immediately and that there must be no further delay. According to him, their fate should not be linked to other issues related to the ‘day after’ in Gaza.”

The deal should come on the basis of a temporary ceasefire, he added.

This idea would put Trump squarely on the Israeli side of the on-again, off-again negotiations with Hamas.

One of Hamas’ most entrenched demands has been that any agreement with Israel be contingent on the IDF permanently and wholly withdrawing from the Strip.

Jerusalem has consistently rejected this due to its security concerns.

Boulos mentioned several countries that “are currently helping to achieve this goal, whether it is Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, or even Turkey.”

Turkey has been thrown into the mix because it now has more influence over Hamas, considering that it took over from Qatar as host to the terror organization’s leaders in recent weeks, he noted, although Doha should remain the chief mediator in the negotiations.

Qatar has supplied Hamas with billions of dollars over the years, giving it a cudgel it has yet to use in over a year of warfare.

In the larger picture, aimed at establishing peace in the region, the Lebanese-American businessman said that Trump will prioritize the resumption of “discussions on the Abraham Accords, with, of course, Saudi Arabia first. Because we know very well, and the president has said so, that once we reach an agreement with Saudi Arabia on Israel, there will be at least twelve Arab countries that will be immediately ready to follow suit.”

According to Boulos, the Saudis were not demanding the establishment of a Palestinian state in order to normalize relations with Israel.

This view seems somewhat at odds with statements coming from the royal family as the war has progressed.

The de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, said in September that “the kingdom will not stop its tireless work towards the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and we affirm that the kingdom will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without that.”

In terms of Iran, Boulos stated that Trump will reinstate his firm line against the Islamic Republic.

While negotiating on the nuclear issue was an option, he said, “maximum pressure” would be brought to bear as “there are three very important points for him: Iran must absolutely not have nuclear power; Iran’s ballistic missiles pose a risk not only to Israel, but also to the Gulf countries; and finally, the problem posed by Iranian proxies in the region, whether in Gaza, Lebanon, Iraq or Yemen.”

Boulos became close to Trump after his son Michael’s 2022 marriage to Tiffany Trump, the only child from Trump’s second marriage, to actress Marla Maples.

The billionaire became an integral part of Trump’s campaign for president by doing outreach to the American Muslim and Arab communities.

He has reportedly served in recent months as the main conduit between Trump and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, arranging, according to Axios, the first phone call between the two after Trump was re-elected.