This is a moment of transition in the Middle East. Iran is weakened. New governments in Syria and Lebanon want to keep it that way. Gulf monarchs are keen on detente with both Iran and Turkey, their regional rivals. Mr Trump talks hopefully of a “bright new day”, a Middle East focused on commerce rather than conflict.

The Trump administration should not make the mistake of thinking that an agreement with Iran requires concomitant concessions to the Israelis and Saudis.

President Donald Trump believes his administration is “very close to a solution” on an Iran nuclear agreement and he has personally warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to disrupt the talks,

On May 26th Israel launched a distribution network, using “hubs” to hand out weekly rations. The next day thousands of hungry people mobbed the area and work was suspended. Aid groups say the plan is woefully insufficient.

For decades, Israel has leveraged its special relationship with the United States to serve as a gatekeeper to Washington. From the Camp David Treaty with Egypt to the Abraham Accords brokered by Trump in his first term,

That lawmaker, Catherine Connolly, an Independent, accused the government of not doing enough to punish Israel for its 19-month-long war on Gaza, which has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, more than half of them children, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Israel and Syria are in direct contact and have in recent weeks held face-to-face meetings aimed at calming tensions and preventing conflict in the border region between the two longtime foes, five people familiar with the matter said.