Israel faces a no-win situation fighting an enemy who tries to break the will of the Israeli public by raping and murdering civilian hostages while influencing world opinion by using its own civilians as military shields. Apart from any military assistance, U.S. policy can help its Israeli ally immensely by the draining of the terrorist funding source from Iran and supporting cooperation between Israel and the Sunni Arab states who are both antagonists of Iran and have other common interests.
Iran's main income source is oil sales. During the Obama administration Iran's oil sales sanctions were lifted and its annual revenue increased to $60 B. In 2018 Donald Trump reimposed sanctions after which Iran's revenue dropped in 2019 to $19 B and then in 2020 to $9 B. After President Biden took office Iran's oil revenue has steadily increased again and its revenues for 2024 is estimated at $35-40 B. Under Biden-Harris there are once again discussions regarding removal of all sanctions.
During the Trump administration the Abraham Accords were signed, reopening relations between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco. There were strong indications that Saudi Arabia was ready to join but negotiations were halted when President Biden took office. Instead under the Biden administration Saudi Arabia has developed closer ties with Russia and China and is reported to be strongly considering accepting currencies other than the dollar for its oil sales which would have potentially devastating results for our economy.
President Trump has repeatedly claimed that if he were in office we would not have the present Middle East conflict. Considering all the facts stated above it seems highly likely that he is correct. Kamala Harris has no significant foreign policy record or evident negotiation skills. She has made no specific foreign policy statements in this matter but both she and her present party members seem to favor the status quo, or worse. Those who would vote for her because of their distaste for Mr. Trump should think long and hard about the implications of that action.
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