Washington DC: US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner is visiting the Middle East, the White House has said, signalling a fresh push on a long promised but yet to be delivered peace plan for the region.
The trip comes amid a flurry of other administration moves to shore up alliances with Arab allies against Iran and the deployment of warships and bombers to the region.
Kushner is accompanied by Jason Greenblatt, Trump's special representative for international negotiations, and Brian Hook, the special US representative for Iran, the White House said on Tuesday.
They "will travel from May 27 to May 31 to Rabat, Amman and Jerusalem," a White House official said on condition of anonymity.
The pair shared an iftar dinner - the traditional meal to break the daily fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan - with Morocco's King Mohammed VI, Crown Prince Moulay Hassan and Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita.
"Thank you to His Majesty for a special evening and for sharing your wisdom," Greenblatt tweeted. "Morocco is an important friend & ally of the United States." The Trump administration is expected to unveil the peace plan - after numerous failures by its predecessors - possibly as early as next month, but the Palestinians have already rejected it as heavily biased in favour of Israel.
Washington has yet to commit to an exact timetable with respect to the political aspects of the plan.
Kushner is the chief architect of the proposals and Greenblatt, a longtime Trump lawyer, has served as his right-hand man on the Middle East initiative.
Upon his arrival in the White House more than two years ago, Trump proclaimed his ambition to secure a final accord ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
But the odds of his succeeding where every previous US president — Republicans as well as Democrats — have failed appear particularly low.