If President Donald Trump loathed(厌恶，憎恨) the Middle East, that unhappy region might be better off(境况更好). Were he filled with cold disdain for Israel, Iran or the Arab monarchies of the Persian Gulf—as happened with other second-term presidents—he might by now be trying to walk away. Instead, as war clouds gather(战云密布) again over Iran and its neighbours, Mr Trump cannot stop meddling(干涉，插手).
如果唐纳德·特朗普总统厌恶中东，这个不幸的地区或许会过得更好。倘若他对以色列、伊朗或波斯湾的阿拉伯君主国充满冷漠的蔑视——就像其他第二任期总统那样——他此刻可能正试图抽身离去。然而，当战云再次笼罩伊朗及其邻国时，特朗普却无法停止插手。
Not so long ago Middle Eastern rulers relished(享受，津津乐道) the attentions of the Trump clan and its patriarch(家长，族长). At last they had an American president who praised their iron-fisted governance(铁腕统治) and shared their transactional(交易式的), show-me-the-money approach to foreign relations. Even their interior design strikes a chord(引起共鸣) with Mr Trump. “I’m seeing perfect marble. This is what they call perfecto,” swooned(陶醉，痴迷) America’s president last year, touring the Emir of Qatar’s palace. On that same visit in May 2025, the applause from Gulf leaders was heartfelt when Mr Trump hailed the “miracle” they had collectively wrought(造成，创造), in a speech in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
不久前，中东统治者还津津乐道于特朗普家族及其大家长的关注。他们终于有了一位美国总统，此人称赞他们铁腕统治，并与他们一样，以交易式、亮出钱来的方式处理对外关系。就连他们的室内设计也能引起特朗普的共鸣。“我看到了完美的大理石。这就是他们所说的‘完美’，”这位美国总统去年参观卡塔尔埃米尔的宫殿时陶醉地说。就在2025年5月的同一次访问中，特朗普在沙特首都利雅得发表演讲，盛赞他们共同创造的“奇迹”，海湾领导人报以由衷的掌声。
Seventeen months on(十七个月后), in such cities as Abu Dhabi, Doha and Dubai, that Riyadh speech is recalled with grief and exasperation(恼怒，恼火). Officials, scholars and investors talk with fury of America’s and Israel’s war on Iran, which is wrecking the very model of modernisation that Mr Trump claims to admire.(官员、学者和投资者愤怒地谈论美以对伊战争，这场战争正在摧毁特朗普声称所欣赏的现代化模式。)
十七个月后，在阿布扎比、多哈和迪拜等城市，人们回忆起那场利雅得演讲时，满怀悲痛与恼怒。官员、学者和投资者愤怒地谈论美国和以色列对伊朗的战争，这场战争正在摧毁特朗普声称所欣赏的现代化模式。