OPINIONSLIDE

TWO Parallel Cairo/Washington Summits Targeting Gaza, Tariffs and Iran

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Dr. Ahmed Mostafa ✍️

US President Donald Trump announced during his meeting with Netanyahu in Washington, Monday April 07th 2025, that the US will begin direct talks with Iran over its nuclear program, starting on Saturday. He warned that if the talks fail, Iran will be in “great danger” and insisted that Iran must not develop nuclear weapons. After meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump expressed hope for a deal, saying that diplomacy is preferable to military action, although he did not rule out the possibility of military intervention if negotiations do not succeed.

Trump recently reached out to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to propose direct negotiations. However, Iran has rejected this offer, although it has left the door open for indirect discussions. Trump has already withdrawn from the Iran nuclear deal, arguing that it is insecure, and aims to craft a stronger deal. Netanyahu supports Trump’s approach and emphasizes preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear capabilities.

The high-level negotiations will take place next Saturday indirectly in Sultanat Oman, the party trusted by Iran, according to Iranian Foreign Minister Araqchi, but the details of the participants have not been disclosed. Trump believes that the U.S. withdrawal from the previous nuclear deal made the world safer, although he has stated that it isolated the U.S. internationally. He noted that the discussions with Netanyahu also covered various issues, including tariffs, Iran’s actions and relations with Turkey.

In the midst of these talks, Trump and Netanyahu also touched on U.S.-Israel trade relations, with Netanyahu pledging to reduce the trade deficit with the U.S. and Trump noting that the U.S. provides significant military aid to Israel. The new tariffs could impact Israel’s economy, with estimates suggesting export losses of up to $3 billion and a significant reduction in jobs in key industries.

Experts suggest that Trump may use the tariff situation as leverage to get concessions from Netanyahu, possibly related to the conflict in Gaza. Trump aims to strengthen ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which would counter Iran’s influence and involve possible new sanctions or military threats against Iran regarding its nuclear activities.

Although Israel is exempt from taxes on US goods, Trump’s tariffs still affect Israel, increasing pressure on Israeli industries, which could lead to significant economic losses and job cuts. The tariffs could discourage investment and damage Israel’s reputation as a center of innovation, with estimates suggesting losses of around $3 billion in exports and thousands of jobs eliminated in various industries.

Before meeting with Netanyahu, Trump spoke with other leaders in the Middle East prior to his meeting with Netanyahu, and the conversations addressed tensions and the war between Israel and Hamas. There were discussions about tariffs, with Netanyahu assuring Trump that Israel would aim to eliminate its trade deficit with the U.S., which amounted to $7.4 billion last year. Trump referred to U.S. aid to Israel, particularly military support, and was non-committal on the prospect of lowering Israel’s tariff rates.

In the midst of these talks, Trump and Netanyahu also touched on U.S.-Israel trade relations, with Netanyahu pledging to reduce the trade deficit with the U.S. and Trump noting that the U.S. provides significant military aid to Israel. The new tariffs could impact Israel’s economy, with estimates suggesting export losses of up to $3 billion and a significant reduction in jobs in key industries.

Experts suggest that Trump may use the tariff situation as leverage to get concessions from Netanyahu, possibly related to the conflict in Gaza. Trump aims to strengthen ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which would counter Iran’s influence and involve possible new sanctions or military threats against Iran regarding its nuclear activities.

Although Israel is exempt from taxes on US goods, Trump’s tariffs still affect Israel, increasing pressure on Israeli industries, which could lead to significant economic losses and job cuts within the entity. The tariffs could discourage investment and damage Israel’s reputation as a center of innovation, with estimates suggesting losses of around $3 billion in exports and thousands of jobs that would be eliminated in various industries.

It is worth noting that Trump is considering postponing the imposed US tariffs for several months after the US economic reports that exposed the US economic reality based on financial services, stock exchanges, digitization and the losses that hit the US and global stock exchanges, as official figures indicate $3 trillion in less than a week and others to $5 trillion, with the expected inflationary recession that will enter the economies of America, the West and everyone associated with its failed financial system into a recession similar to 2008 and the time of the Corona pandemic.

On the other hand, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, presented yesterday the idea of mutual elimination of tariffs between the European Union and America because of the great economic troubles that the old continent, especially Germany, is facing, and because its currency, the euro, and its economy are linked to the US economy, as we have said before.

Before meeting with Netanyahu, Trump spoke with the leaders of the trilateral summit which was held parallely in Cairo amid (ُEgyptia President Sisi, French President Macron and the Jordanian King Abdullah) about the need for Israel to abide by the ceasefire agreement that went into effect last January and move forward in subsequent phases, and the talks addressed the tensions and war between Israel and Hamas.

Trump’s unspoken issue is Netanyahu’s failure to displace Palestinians from Gaza within the timeframe he gave Netanyahu for the release of Israeli prisoners, which ended without achieving this insidious goal, and America’s tarnished reputation as a dishonest global mediator. Also, America’s failure to discourage the Houthis from attacking its aircraft carriers and naval pieces in the Red Sea, after the recent CNN report, which revealed that America spent in less than a few weeks nearly 10 billion dollars to no avail, with the continued Houthi attacks on the entity, in addition to the Qassam missile attacks that began yesterday in Ashdod.

aldiplomasy

Transparency, my 🌉 to all..

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