October 30, 2025
Dear MEPIN Readers,
Kuwait rarely grabs headlines like the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, or Saudi Arabia, but it remains a strategically important Gulf nation. It is now in the spotlight following the nomination of President Trump’s pick for U.S. Ambassador to Kuwait, whose recent Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearings exposed deeply controversial views.
The nominee has justified the October 7 Hamas attacks, refused to condemn atrocities against civilians, denied Hamas’s sexual violence, openly supports BDS, lauded Saddam Hussein as a “martyr,” compared Jews to monkeys, and expressed admiration for the Muslim Brotherhood.
In my interview, I unpack why this nomination matters for U.S.-Gulf relations, how it reflects enduring Kuwaiti hostility toward Israel, and why Kuwait remains unlikely to participate in the Abraham Accords anytime soon — even as regional geopolitics continue to shift. — Eric