Trump’s Iran Outreach Is a Tactical Delay, Analyst Says

On Channel 14’s “Israel Morning” this Monday, Dr. Dan Diker offered a sharply critical reading of Washington’s approach to Iran and said the apparent warming toward Tehran is meant to buy time ahead of the U.S. midterm elections in four months. Speaking with host Tal Meir, he said President Donald Trump must deliver economic results, keep the Strait of Hormuz open, lower oil prices and maintain calm until the vote. “The president has to buy time at any cost,” Diker said.

Diker, who recently took part in a JNS conference in Jerusalem attended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior Fox News figures, said Israel’s absence from clauses meant to prevent friction in Lebanon was deliberate. He argued Netanyahu’s public silence reflects full awareness of the negotiations and that security coordination between Israel and the United States is deeper than previously understood.

He also described Vice President JD Vance as a political tool for Trump, saying Vance gives the president room to voice hard lines toward Israel that satisfy the MAGA base while Trump himself reverses positions dramatically. “It’s all part of the game,” Diker said. In his view, Iran understands American and Israeli politics well and uses the dynamic to isolate Israel on Lebanon while pressing Trump for further concessions.

Diker urged Israeli ministers not to respond to every JD Vance statement or clash publicly with the administration. He stressed that Israel is “not the 51st state,” but must understand how the U.S. president operates. On the northern border, he said he had heard personally from Netanyahu that Israel will not withdraw from Lebanon, adding, “We are staying there at any cost,” and that Israel needs strategic depth and defensible borders, with no move south of the Litani River. He concluded with cautious optimism, saying the security coordination is what allows Israel to keep fighting for its borders despite the global political turmoil.