What will Trump 2.0 do to contain Tehran?

Donald Trump's return as United States (US) president has already re-shaped geopolitical and diplomatic engagements in West Asia.

- Deepika Saraswat

Israel and Hamas agreed on a ceasefire and hostages-for-prisoners deal, dispelling eight months of uncertainty. Trump had warned Hamas that "all hell would break out in the Middle East" if it failed to release all the hostages by January 20. While Joe Biden, fearing domestic pushback in an election year, was circumspect in putting public pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump had told him to swiftly "get your victory" because the "killing has to stop" in Gaza.

Trump argued that a prolonged war was damaging Israel's image globally. He had been saying that the Gaza and Ukraine wars wouldn't have happened under his watch. Seemingly, Trump thinks his "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran, from his first term, was a success. Critics point at Trump's unilateral withdrawal from the US's nuclear deal with Iran prompting the latter to substantially expand its uranium enrichment activities and drastically reduce the timeline for making nuclear weapons.