The article discusses President Trump's visit to the Middle East, focusing on his controversial acceptance of a luxury plane from Qatar and nuclear negotiations with Iran. Analysts Sarah Leah Whitson and Akbar Shahid Ahmed argue that Israel's government desires a military strike against Iran, especially in light of weakened Iranian positions. Ahmed notes that while the Trump team is advocating for negotiation, their approach and level of expertise have been questioned, particularly given the prior success of the Obama administration's deal that Trump abandoned.
They're certainly not thrilled, Juan. Their preference would have been for a U.S. and Israeli-backed military strike by now - in fact, prior to now. Their argument is, we, as Israel, in this kind of post-October 7th moment, in our retaliatory campaign across the region, have weakened Iran, right? They've weakened the pro-Iran militia in Lebanon, Hezbollah.
The counterargument to that is, of course, unintended consequences of a major war, and also the technical nuclear expertise doesn't go away. So, the Trump administration is saying, 'Let's try to reach a deal.' And they have stuck by that, despite facing criticism.
It's worth remembering President Trump is in this situation because he abandoned the deal that the Obama administration had achieved - right? - through extreme negotiation and technical expertise.
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