Iran lost the war militarily, but may prevail politically. Nearly six months after the United States and Israel launched joint air strikes in Iran, killing a significant proportion of its political and military leadership and massively degrading its armed forces, the Iranian regime has maneuvered U.S. President Donald Trump into a strategic cul-de-sac. Trump initiated […]
Donald Trump is bound to be disappointed, if not angry, by Israel’s negative reaction to his recent announcement regarding the prospects of peace in the Gaza Strip. On July 29, nine days after Khalil al-Hayya was elected Hamas’ new political chieftain, Trump announced that Hamas had agreed to give up its weapons during future negotiations […]
On the eve of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington last week, Trump received a letter from Matan Vilnai, the chairman of Commanders for Israel’s Security, an organization of retired officials who served in the Israeli armed forces and intelligence agencies. Vilnai’s impassioned letter was not about Israel’s current confrontation […]
There is a glaring disconnect between Israel’s sagging popularity in the United States and President Donald Trump’s regard and respect for Israel. By virtually every yardstick, Trump is the most pro-Israel president in American history. During his first term, he moved the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the […]
President Donald Trump’s new nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia has already become mired in confusion. Within 24 hours of its announcement, Trump appeared to rewrite one of its most important conditions. On July 23, the United States announced that it would build a civilian nuclear program in Saudi Arabia, causing consternation in Israel. The deal, […]
The United States and Iran are enmeshed in a no-war, no-peace deadlock that could easily escalate into an all-out war again should there be no major diplomatic breakthrough. The war that the United States and Israel initiated against Iran on February 28 has mutated into a bruising war of attrition, which has oscillated between periods […]
Shortly after the eruption of the war in Iran last winter, the Iranian regime closed the Strait of Hormuz to virtually all commercial shipping. The selective closure of this international waterway excluded allies like China and Pakistan, but inflicted severe damage on the global economy. Oil and liquified natural gas prices soared, increasing the cost […]
Marco Rubio, the U.S. secretary of state, called it a “major milestone,” heralding what could be a new chapter in Israel’s often rocky bilateral relations with Lebanon. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, described it as “a major achievement” that could well open the door to an eventual peace agreement between Israel and its northern neighbor. […]
Iran appears to have won a strategic diplomatic victory over Israel, having succeeded in placing Israel’s current conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon at the center of its talks with the United States to officially terminate their war. During the opening round of U.S.-Iran negotiations in Switzerland on June 21, which was aimed at turning a […]
Donald Trump lambasted the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which placed severe restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program. He called it “one of the most incompetently drawn deals I’ve ever seen.” After he unilaterally withdrew from the agreement in 2018, he assured Americans that he would forge a far better deal than his predecessor, […]