WASHINGTON (TNND) — President Trump is heading overseas for his first big international trip of his second term.

The National News Desk spoke to Middle East expert Dan Raviv about the president's trip, the release of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander and why Israel has been left off the trip itinerary.

Q: What's the significance of making this region the first big international trip of his second term, similarly to how we did in his first term?

It seems to me that President Trump wants to score wins."

"That is his nature after all. And by feeling out these three Arabian countries, that he's going to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, he must have gotten great feedback that yes, they'd like to invest in the United States. Yes, they'd like to tighten the relationship, maybe even a defense cooperation agreement where the US might guarantee their safety," Raviv said.

"This is something that those Arab countries are interested in, and of course, it's noteworthy that the president decided not to visit Israel. He is known as a friend of Israel, but it's unusual for a U.S. president to go to the region and skip Israel. On the other hand, he is obviously very involved. After all, we look at Monday's release of a dual citizen, the Israeli-American, Edan Alexander, and the White House is very proud of its role in that."

Q: Why do you think Israel was left off of this itinerary?

"Because of the notion that the president wants to score wins, right? And the three, frankly, wealthy Arabian countries can invest a lot of money in the U.S. investment deals are expected to be signed."

"Those Arab countries buying things from the U.S., investing in the United States, I think we're going to be hearing claims that tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of jobs will be created in the U.S. Frankly, Israel is not so big, doesn't have that much in the way of investments, already a tight defense relationship with the United States. Israel's of course caught up in the Gaza War, where you couldn't be sure if you visited that it would look like a winning week. This way, Donald Trump is almost sure to have four good days," Raviv said.

Q: What message does this send to both the Arab countries and to Israel that Donald Trump is not stopping in Israel on this trip?

Dan Raviv: There's a sense that he is distancing himself a little bit, if not from the Jewish state of Israel than from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. I've heard from some US officials and some analysts here in Washington that the Trump White House is not happy. I. That Netanyahu is intent on continuing the war in Gaza, in the belief that he has to totally defeat Hamas, eliminate that terrorist organization because of the attacks, uh, of October 7th in 2023.

Whereas President Trump says he wants to be a peacemaker and turn the page right, get to the next thing. What will Gaza be in the future? Uh, and there's a perception in the Trump White House that Netanyahu is reluctant. Now that's true by the way. Has said publicly, he thinks the war must be expanded to put pressure on Hamas to release more hostages.

Q: What should we make of the fact that the last living American hostage, Eden Alexander, was released today, but other hostages have not been released? In regard to what that says about the U.S.'s role in a possible ceasefire deal with Israel and Hamas, and those relationships? That the U.S. and Hamas seemed to have struck this deal without Israel?

It is quite extraordinary that the U.S. would speak directly. I, I don't know if they were in the same room, but they might have been with Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization. But of course, it's Hamas that holds the hostages. It's the, it's Hamas. That would be perhaps the key to ending the war in Gaza, which President Trump wants to end as part of his campaign, to be frank, to, to win a Nobel Peace Prize."

"He hasn't hidden that's one of his ambitions. So, President Trump said it was okay for his representatives to make a deal with Hamas, with Israel not even involved. And what's special about Edan Alexander, who's been released, is that U.S. citizenship. This was a young man who moved from New Jersey to Israel, join the Army. So he is a citizen of both countries. The other hostages are not Americans," Raviv explained.

Q: Going back to Trump's broader trip to the Middle East, what does success look like? I know we talked about trade deals. What about movement on an Iran nuclear deal? What does the Trump administration want to return to America after this trip with win Wise?

When an American president goes to the Arab world, almost always, he has wanted to have the kind of defense relationship where the U.S. feels there are allies there. Qatar, for instance, a very small country, that President Trump will be visiting on Thursday. Plays host to the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East with more than 8,000 Americans there."

"Qatar also has good relations with Iran, and so it's kind of in the middle and you can see why President Trump would think that's a useful country. I'd even take a gift from Qatar of a 747 jumbo jet, which apparently is going to happen and President Trump wants to. So there's so many ways to tighten the relationship for the US to feel that it has firm friends in the Arab world, frankly, the richest countries, Saudi Arabia, United Arab, Arab Emirates, and Qatar, President Trump considers them to be friends and they'll prove it by investing in the U.S.," Raviv said.

Q: What do you make of Trump saying he'll accept this luxury jet from Qatar?

A lot of people think, and I'm a little uncomfortable too, that it's a, it looks like a form of bribery, but you could say that the U.S. is already friendly with Qatar. President Trump already likes the royal family of Qatar."

"There was a time, by the way, eight years ago, when Saudi Arabia was in a big dispute with Qatar, and President Trump took the Saudi side and declared that Qatar is too close to radicals and supporting Hamas and other extremist organizations. But since then, President Trump has become friendly with the royal family," Raviv explained.

"President Trump has said, 'Only a fool would say no to the gift of a jumbo jet.' After all, the two Air Force One jets that the president now uses are 40 years old. Here's an opportunity to use another one, which will end up apparently in the future Trump Presidential Library. President Trump says it's only logical to take the gift. As I say, other people would see it as kind of a bribe. I'll see it perhaps as evidence that the relationship is very tight."

Expert weighs in on Iran nuclear talks

They only started a few weeks ago. It does make Arabs in the Middle East feel uncomfortable. Keep in mind that Iran is not an Arab country, right? It's a Persian, Shiite Muslim country. And so Saudi Arabia is usually very concerned about Iranian power and influence. And Israel, of course, considers Iran a lethal enemy."

"Here's President Trump again. He took Prime Minister Netanyahu by surprise, announcing the U.S. would start nuclear talks with Iran. There's a lot of discomfort there, and so I think President Trump will have an opportunity this week to explain to the three large, well, I would say large, rich. I think President Trump will have an opportunity to explain to the three wealthy Arab countries that if he can strike a deal with Iran, that prevents Iran getting a nuclear bomb, that's gotta be good for everybody," Raviv explained.

Q: Do you think we'll see any military arms deals come out of this trip to the Middle East?

It's quite routine that the way to extend friendship to a country in the Middle East, this includes Israel in general, is to have an arm sale, which the president would make the deal. Then Congress would have to approve and probably, of course, with the Congress controlled by the Republicans."

"There won't be a problem and President Trump wants to sell U.S. aircraft, other defense or military systems the Saudis want to buy. But you know, the Saudis also want a defense agreement that says that the U.S. would rush to their aid if Saudi Arabia were threatened. Frankly, that's the kind of relationship the U.S. So look for that kind of deal. United Arab Emirates also wants to buy weapons. I'm pretty sure Qatar does too. Qatar may be giving a gift to the United States in the form of a future Air Force One aircraft, but Qatar also would be buying a lot from the U.S.," Raviv explained.