Many Hurdles Face Trump, Rubio as US Seeks to End Threats to Israel in 7-Front War

JERUSALEM, Israel – In addition to many domestic challenges, the new Trump administration is facing several crises in the Middle East. The problems are prickly in Israel's seven-front war, yet the Trump team seems determined to find ways to turn the difficulties into positive possibilities.

With the ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza, the weakening of the Islamic regime in Iran, and the fall of the Assad dictatorship in Syria, new U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sees chances for real change. 

He stated, "There are now factors at play in the Middle East, and I think we can build upon and may open the door to extraordinary and historic opportunities."

Iran, though wounded, is still dangerous as it moves closer to becoming a nuclear power. It's rapidly enriching uranium to a degree that it could be used in a dozen nuclear bombs.

Tehran is also working on ballistic missiles that could deliver those weapons to any destination on planet Earth.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged he'll never let the Islamic regime get that far, but it might take U.S. assistance and the kind of massive bunker-buster bombs only America possesses to knock out Iran's underground nuclear facilities.

In Gaza, Hamas appears far from dead and the terror group is working to rebuild its forces and keep control of the area. 

While the international community backs Palestinian rule in Gaza, Rubio pointed out what happened after they took control from Israel there in 2005.

"Hamas won an election," Rubio recalled. "They took over and destroyed the place, and built tunnels for terrorists to operate from. So, the key is not simply governance – it's who will govern. You can't turn it over to people who seek your destruction."

As Israel continues to expand its communities in Judea and Samaria, some advocate that Jerusalem annex the area. They remember that Trump backed Israel's annexation of the Golan Heights for security reasons.

As for Syria, the big question is whether the new Islamic leaders in Damascus will become a threat to Israel, especially since, in the past, they've spoken openly of wanting to march on Jerusalem to retake it for Islam.

There are also concerns that their plan to declare Sharia law throughout the nation will make Christians and other religious minorities second-class citizens at risk of persecution.

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Perhaps the greatest achievement Trump could pull off would be an expansion of the Abraham Accords to include Saudi Arabia.

While that would be a game-changer for the Middle East, it faces a huge hurdle, as Saudi Arabia maintains it won't join the accords until the Palestinians are on their way to their own state, bringing what the Saudis believe will be long-term peace in the region.

The Middle East nations will also need to deal with the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen who have threatened central Israel with persistent missile launches and thoroughly disrupted vital shipping lanes in the Red Sea.

To that end, President Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday reinstating the U.S. designation of the Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, as a terrorist group. President Biden lifted that designation during his administration.

A new White House statement read in part, "Under President Trump, it is now the policy of the United States to cooperate with its regional partners to eliminate the Houthis’ capabilities and operations, deprive them of resources and thereby end their attacks on U.S. personnel and civilians, U.S. partners and maritime shipping in the Red Sea."