Today, we open with a truth many in Washington refuse to face: Trump’s Iran war is bringing down the American empire. Not slowly. Not quietly. But in real time, in front of the world, in ways that expose the fragility of a superpower that once believed it could reshape the Middle East with a single strike.

The Iran confrontation was supposed to be a show of dominance. Instead, it became a mirror reflecting American decline. A war of choice that revealed a nation overstretched, overconfident, and unprepared for the consequences of its own aggression.

And while the empire trembles, the Gulf is rewriting its own destiny.

Let’s see how the Gulf countries once obedient allies, are reshaping their stance. Saudi Arabia negotiating with Iran. Qatar refusing to bend. Turkey rising. And the UAE, the country that always played both sides, suddenly scrambling to bail itself out of Iran’s reach. Deals whispered in back rooms. Gold shipments rumored. Diplomacy conducted in shadows. A quiet panic disguised as strategy.

Then comes Senator Chris Murphy one of the few voices in Washington willing to speak without fear. Murphy exposes what others tiptoe around: Trump enriching himself and his inner circle while the region burns. Contracts. Backdoor deals. Foreign money flowing into private pockets. Murphy lays it out plainly, revealing a network of self‑interest wrapped in the language of patriotism.

And while Washington argues, the Mecca Pact shifts the balance of power.

Turkey emerges from the pact with a new mandate, a moral, political, and symbolic authority over Israel that Tel Aviv never expected. A pact that turns Gaza from a tragedy into a rallying point. A pact that signals the Islamic world is no longer willing to watch from the sidelines. A pact that gives Ankara leverage it has not held in decades.

But nothing captures the collapse of American power more than the final image, the one the world cannot unsee.

Trump, humiliated, hiding in a food truck. A president sealed inside a metal box meant for plastic trays and catering carts. And outside? His entire administration left behind as a decoy. Exposed. Abandoned. Used as human cover while he disappeared into the shadows.

A leader hiding. A team sacrificed. An empire trembling.

This is where our story begins.

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This is This Week in Palestine.