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President Trump’s recent appeal for calm and his public comment that the United States and Iran were “very close” to a diplomatic framework after recent strikes in Lebanon has stirred fierce debate about whether diplomacy or pressure will bring lasting security to the region. The president’s push to avoid a wider conflagration and keep channels open with Tehran struck a nerve with many who have watched the ayatollahs bankroll proxies for decades.
Former Israeli Ambassador Danny Ayalon told viewers on Newsmax’s Sunday Report that Washington should not confuse temporary pauses with real change inside Tehran, arguing bluntly that the Iranians will not change their behavior without a decisive shift in regime incentives. His long-standing warning — that dismantling Iran’s proxy networks and confronting their regime is the only way to protect Israel and American interests — echoes what many on the right have been saying for years.
Conservatives who have watched Iran export terror across the region rightly fear that any deal which fails to cut off support for Hezbollah in Lebanon merely kicks the can down the road. Reporting shows that U.S. negotiators have discussed ceasefire terms that explicitly touch on Lebanon and Hezbollah, underscoring how central Iran’s proxies are to the current violence and why appeasement is not a strategy for peace.
Those who want to trust Tehran’s promises should remember how often shady agreements and temporary pauses have been portrayed as breakthroughs in the past. Even allies in Jerusalem have privately worried about the contours of Washington’s understanding with Tehran, and the administration must not allow a paper memorandum to become a cover for Iran’s continued malign activity.
Patriotic Americans who value our alliance with Israel should insist that strength, not naïve conciliation, guide U.S. policy: that means backing Israel’s right to defend itself, sustaining pressure on Iran’s regime, and supporting efforts to dismantle the networks that threaten our friends and shipping lanes alike. If diplomacy is to mean anything, it must be backed by unmistakable deterrence and a readiness to push for fundamental change in Tehran — because concessions without consequences will only invite more aggression.
