Uncertainty across Middle East

Uncertainty spread across the Middle East following Donald Trump's US election win, with questions hanging over the war against the Islamic State group, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Iran's nuclear deal.

In some parts of the region the surprise victory was welcomed with calls for Trump to take action, in others it sparked alarm.

But it was unclear what impact Trump's isolationist views would have on US engagements in the Middle East, adding another measure of confusion to an already-volatile region.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rushed to congratulate Trump on his win, calling him a "true friend" of the Jewish state.

In a meeting with Netanyahu in New York in September, Trump pledged to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's "undivided" capital if elected, in a break with longstanding US policy.

Trump's adviser on Israel, David Friedman, also said last month the candidate was "tremendously sceptical" about the prospects for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

During the campaign Trump repeatedly pledged to "destroy" the jihadist Islamic State group, but presented no clear plan for how. How Trump moves forward with the anti-IS offensive will depend on how he intends to deal with traditional US allies in the region, in particular Sunni Arab Gulf states, and his approach to the war in Syria.

Trump said earlier this year that fighting both IS and Assad simultaneously was "madness, and idiocy".

While Trump's intentions elsewhere in the Middle East may be vague, his stand on last year's nuclear deal between world powers and Iran was clear -- Trump described it as "disastrous" and said it would be his "number one priority" to dismantle the agreement.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, who staked his political reputation on the deal in the face of fierce hardline opposition, said there was no way Trump could rip it up.

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said he hoped Trump's win would inject "a new spirit" into US-Egyptian relations.