BICOM

US President Donald Trump unveiled his highly anticipated National Security Strategy (NSS) in a speech to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Cabinet Secretaries, members of Congress and officials from the intelligence and security agencies.

White House officials said the NSS draws from speeches that the President delivered during the 2016 campaign, at the UN and on visits to Europe and Asia. The strategy is divided into four main sections touching on all aspects of national power: diplomatic, economic and military.

On the Middle East, the NSS says that “the region remains home to the world’s most dangerous terrorist organisations” and that Iran, “the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, has taken advantage of instability to expand its influence through partners and proxies, weapon proliferation, and funding”.

The strategy document says that despite the 2015 nuclear agreement Iran continues to “develop more capable ballistic missiles and intelligence capabilities, and it undertakes malicious cyber activities… causing grievous harm to civilian populations”.

Last week, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley held a press conference in Washington where she presented fragments of Iranian missiles that the Houthis fired into Saudi Arabia. Our new strategy was prompted by the undeniable fact that the Iranian regime’s behaviour is growing worse,” she said.

The strategy says that although the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has long been regarded as the main obstacle to regional peace and prosperity, the rise of jihadist terror groups and Iran have made plain that this is not the case.

“For generations the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has been understood as the prime irritant preventing peace and prosperity in the region. Today, the threats from radical jihadist terrorist organisations and the threat from Iran are creating the realisation that Israel is not the cause of the region’s problems. States have increasingly found common interests with Israel in confronting common threats,” the document states.

The NSS also draws attention to China and Russia as two countries that “challenge American power, influence, and interests, attempting to erode American security and prosperity”.

White House officials said the strategy was the culmination of 11 months of collaboration between the leading security, foreign policy and economic agencies of government.