Split between Trump and Netanyahu deepens more and more, says expert

The war in the Middle East approaches its 100th day without any ceasefire agreement having proven effective. Several attempts at negotiation were blocked, deepening tensions between the allies involved in the conflict.

In an interview with WW, Carlos Gustavo Poggio, professor of Political Science at Berea College, assesses that the Trump administration does not operate based on long-term strategies. "What we have are immediate impulses from the North American president," he stated. "This idea that he can make deals are usually patches for a much more complex strategic situation."

Negotiations with Hezbollah and the complexity of Lebanon
Poggio highlighted that the fact that an American president declared having dealt directly with Hezbollah is something "relatively unprecedented in the history of the United States." The expert highlighted, however, that the Lebanese government has little control over the situation, which makes negotiations even more difficult.

"It is not enough to negotiate with the Lebanese government, since Hezbollah has different objectives from the Lebanese government," he explained. "It's not the same as negotiating a real estate deal in the New York market."

Growing rift between Trump and Netanyahu
The analyst also pointed to an increasingly evident rift between Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu. According to Poggio, there is a growing perception that the Trump administration was led into a conflict with Iran without the consequences being properly assessed.

"If we look at the recent interview that Netanyahu gave to American TV, saying that he was surprised by Iran's action in the Strait of Hormuz, I think this is very revealing," he said. "It appears that Netanyahu is justifying having sold a conflict against Iran that would be easily resolved by the United States."

Poggio concluded that issues involving Hezbollah constitute an important element that Iran has placed on the negotiating table, making the scenario even more intricate. "It's a very complex situation and I don't think it's likely to be resolved in the short term," said the expert.

The texts generated by artificial intelligence on CNN Brasil are made based on video cuts from the newspapers in its programming. All information is investigated and checked by journalists. The final text is also reviewed by the CNN journalism team. Click here to find out more.

Source: CNN