Analyst Says Trump Is Yielding to Iran for Election Reasons

Middle East analyst Yoni Ben Menachem said in a Monday interview with Tal Meir on Channel 14 that U.S. President Donald Trump is acting under the shadow of the November midterm elections and has made two major mistakes in his dealings with Iran. He argued that the White House is trying to get through the elections quietly, saying, “We need to remember that all of Trump’s move is mainly because of the November midterm elections. He wants to get through them safely.”

Ben Menachem also sharply criticized Trump’s position in the talks with Tehran, saying the president had placed himself in a weaker negotiating stance. In his view, Trump failed to block the issue of the Strait of Hormuz in advance and instead became drawn into the negotiations.

Addressing reactions in the Arab world to the emerging understanding between the United States and Iran, Ben Menachem said the Middle East is not rushing to draw conclusions despite the current atmosphere. He said Iran is using the negotiations to buy time.

According to Ben Menachem, Tehran sees this period as temporary and believes it will later be easier to move back toward a nuclear bomb. “Their mission is to get through the Netanyahu-Trump era,” he said.