Trump Seeks a Deal With Iran, and Israel Could Pay the Price

American pressure on Israel to avoid striking Beirut’s Dahieh district signals the direction Donald Trump is pursuing, the article argues, a rapid deal with Iran even if it requires concessions in Lebanon. Trump, it says, views the Middle East war as too long and sees military force only as a way to bring Tehran back to negotiations, not to trap the United States in another open-ended conflict.

The piece says the broader confrontation was complicated when an American Apache helicopter was brought down near the Strait of Hormuz. Trump initially hesitated, but after being shown clear evidence that an Iranian Shahed drone hit the helicopter directly, he approved three waves of strikes on targets in southern Iran. Even after that, the article says, his basic objective remained a negotiated settlement.

Iran, however, does not treat Hezbollah as a side issue. Tehran has made clear, according to the article, that no comprehensive agreement can be discussed without addressing Lebanon as well. The implication is that Iran wants to use Israel’s northern border as leverage in any deal Trump seeks, a gap that is widening as fighting in Lebanon continues. After Bint Jbeil fell, Hezbollah shifted its main focus to Tyre, while the IDF reached the Litani River in the eastern sector and began striking Tyre too, including the Christian quarter where Hezbollah fighters were reportedly taking shelter.

At the same time, drones are still crossing into Israeli territory, and one armed militant managed to cross the border and approach Israeli forces. The article says northern residents need a new security reality, not more promises. It concludes that Iran understands Trump’s weakness, it only needs to survive, buy time, and raise the price of each passing day through the Strait of Hormuz, while the Gulf fears shipping and economic damage and Americans remember Iraq and Afghanistan.