TEHRAN – The ever-humorous President of the United States has expressed a fascinating ambition: to win the Nobel Peace Prize. 

There are two paths to achieving this. One resembles filmmakers who create movies solely for festivals, where only a handful of judges and select attendees watch their work. For them, the trophy—made of metal, wood, or glass—becomes the ultimate goal, without their films reaching a broader audience or making a genuine impact. 

Similarly, some athletes from developing countries are signed by prestigious European teams, only to spend most of their time on the sidelines rather than playing. They are not disheartened, as their fans back home take pride in seeing them associated with a renowned team, even if they rarely step onto the field. This player sought superficial fame and achieved it, but little else. This is one way to approach the prize.

Alternatively, you could follow in the footsteps of figures like Elon Musk, who has excelled in finance and science but lacks a political accolade to flaunt. You might stage a hollow peace initiative like many former U.S. presidents, handing out a piece of paper and some pens to both sides in West Asia while cameras roll and applause fills the air, ultimately walking away with a Nobel Peace Prize that is merely a trophy—without any real peace being established. This has been the pattern for your predecessors.

However, I propose a different approach: ask why, despite your Hollywood flair for grand ceremonies, no genuine peace agreement has emerged in West Asia. Let me illustrate with an example. Imagine a wealthy man suffering from cancer pain. His family, wanting to inherit his wealth, conspires with his trusted doctor to conceal his illness and provide him with painkillers. The man, relieved of his pain, is grateful to his doctor and family. Yet, as time passes and the chance for real treatment slips away, he weakens and eventually dies. His wealth is then easily divided among those who deceived him. Until the end, he remains thankful for their false relief.

This scenario mirrors the peace agreements your predecessors have brokered over the past seventy-five years between Palestinians and Israeli cabinets. These agreements have never offered genuine solutions; they are merely temporary ceasefires following previous conflicts, often leading to even worse violence. 

Now, Mr. Trump, you can choose to prescribe these fake remedies for the ongoing suffering of people in West Asia—like that self-deceiving filmmaker or an athlete content with being on the sidelines—satisfied with their superficial effects among those easily impressed, while placing the Nobel Peace Prize on display in your trophy cabinet or under your pillow without achieving true peace.

Or, I suggest you take a different route that all your predecessors have overlooked: restore the real rights of the Palestinian people, who have endured so much over these seventy-five years—especially in the last fifteen months—sacrificing their families for their cause. Choose an honorable peace that genuinely addresses the root of the conflict. While figures like Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir may not applaud you for this choice, you will undoubtedly earn the respect and admiration of people around the world who long for authentic peace—not just those who participate in empty ceremonies.

I know this may seem like a lofty wish, but many people in West Asia still hold onto such hopes—not through two-ton bombs supplied by supposed peacemakers and phony treaties.