White House Drafts Post-War Middle East Plan to Contain Iran, Expand Abraham Accords

The Trump administration is quietly building a post-war Middle East strategy aimed at containing Iran and expanding the normalization agreements that have reshaped the region, according to two U.S. officials and other sources with direct knowledge of the planning.

The framework is still in its early stages, but it is designed to guide American policy after the conflict with Iran ends and through the final years of President Trump's term. Sources describe it as an ambitious attempt to lock in a durable regional alignment before the guns go quiet.

A Regional Strategy Takes Shape

Preliminary work on the strategy is underway at the most senior levels of the administration and across multiple government agencies. Trump has held at least two recent meetings with senior advisers in which the plan was discussed and ideas for the approach were raised.

Privately, Trump has told confidants he is working toward "something much bigger" in the Middle East once the war with Iran wraps up. The emerging blueprint appears to be exactly that -- a bid to reshape the region on American terms rather than simply wind down a conflict.

Containment and New Alliances

Sources describe three main elements on the table. The first would align America's Middle East allies around U.S.-guaranteed efforts to contain a post-war Iran. The second involves a Saudi-Israeli normalization agreement and the expansion of the Abraham Accords, the diplomatic framework Trump first brokered in his first term.

A third piece would address the regional fallout from Hamas's October 7 massacre and the war that followed. That could include securing the next phase of Trump's Gaza peace plan, forging a security agreement between Israel and Syria, and implementing agreements with Lebanon aimed at dismantling Hezbollah's threat along Israel's northern border.

'Not Yet Cooked'

One source briefed on the development said it could take weeks before a more complete strategy is drafted. "The administration is cooking it, but it is not yet cooked," the source said.

"The idea is to tie a whole lot of things in the region together -- how you create a regional alignment after the war," the source added. "It is still unclear if all US allies in the region will be on board."

That caveat underscores the scale of the undertaking. Any durable arrangement depends on partners from Riyadh to Beirut trusting that Washington's guarantees will hold after the shooting stops.

What Comes Next

The administration hopes the government formed after Israel's October 27 Knesset elections will cooperate with the strategy. U.S. officials, however, stressed that Trump intends to push the plan forward regardless of the election outcome or political pushback from the new government.

With combat operations against Iran still unfolding, the emerging blueprint signals the administration is already thinking about the day after. The goal, as officials describe it, is a realigned Middle East built on the containment of Tehran, deeper ties between Israel and its neighbors, and a lasting answer to the chaos that followed October 7.

For now, the strategy remains a work in progress -- but the direction is clear. The White House is positioning the United States to lead the region's next chapter, not just react to it.