Special to WorldTribune.com

JERUSALEM — Diplomatic sources said President Barack Obama has proposed an alliance by Egypt, Iran
and Turkey.

The sources said the president, in talks with the Israeli leadership in
late March, termed the prospective alliance as the future of the Middle
East.

“Obama was telling [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu that these
countries would stabilize the region and should be supported,” a source
said.

The sources, familiar with Obama’s discussions during his March 20-22
visit to Israel, said Egypt, Iran and Turkey represented the new Muslim
powers that would determine the future of the Middle East. They said Iran’s alliance with Sunni Egypt and Turkey would avoid a nuclear arms race despite concern over Teheran’s uranium enrichment program.

“The Israelis didn’t know how to respond and just kept quiet as Obama
spoke in a quite enthusiastic manner over his vision of the new Middle
East,” the source said.

The sources said Netanyahu, intent on avoiding a clash with Obama,
agreed with virtually everything the president said. They said Netanyahu
also ordered his aides not to dispute White House officials during the
visit.

“The Israelis basically kept quiet and let Obama say and do what he
wanted,” another source said. “But the visit for the Israelis was very
tense, and at the end they understood how far apart the two sides were on
basic questions.”

The sources said Obama’s support of an alliance of Egypt, Iran and
Turkey marked his strategy for the Middle East during his second term. They
said the president played down concerns over the massive protests against
Egypt’s new Islamist regime, which received its first advanced F-16
multi-role fighters from the United States in 2013.

Instead, Obama urged Israel to reconcile with Turkey as well as support
the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank. The sources said
Obama supported Turkish efforts to intervene in Israeli talks with the
Palestinian Authority.

  Benjamin Netanyahu, Egypt’s Islamist regime, Obama promoted Egypt-Iran-Turkey alliance in ‘tense’ Israel meeting, Palestinian state, Recep Erdogan