Trump and Netanyahu see eye to eye on the end of the war. The dispute: When will Iran receive the changes it has requested. One of them, which Tehran wants here and now, creates an entirely new reality in the Middle East – and to which the US will not be able to agree
It is tempting to try and assess what is expected in negotiations between the US and Iran, based on previous rounds between the parties. But perhaps we can learn from another corner of the Middle East: Hamas in Gaza.
There, as here, Trump expressed himself in exactly the same way regarding the enemy ("open the gates of hell on them") and there too it suddenly became clear to Israel that he was conducting direct negotiations with them. For many, this was proof that Trump had thrown us under the bus, that he was unstable, and other well-worn clichés.
But the truth was different: Netanyahu's Israel and Trump's USA had the same goals - the return of the kidnapped and the disarmament of Hamas. But there were gaps regarding the means. Israel advocated military force as the sole solution, Trump believed that negotiations were also possible. The US president was right, to Israel's surprise. He returned all the kidnapped while the IDF still controlled most of the Strip, and left the demand for demobilization for later.
