Iran, Israel, and Trump converge. Why Trump is not a peacemaker

Although I made Aliyah (becoming an Israeli citizen and making Israel my home) many years ago, as a person who spent decades as a political junkie in the United States, I cannot help myself from following American politics as well as what is taking place in Israel. In the last several months the two have converged. What is taking place here very much affects politics in the United States – politics which are heating up as the November 2026 Congressional elections come closer and closer.

There are many people in the United States who are horrified by what Donald Trump is doing that threatens the very basis of American democracy, including taking over not only the executive branch of government, as all presidents do, but the legislative and judicial branches, too, something which the drafters of the American constitution tried very hard to keep from happening.

Trump, in contrast, has a group of supporters who voted for him and think that he is a strong man who can protect them. All other issues (like racism, sexism, credibility, and honesty) are secondary. Trump works hard at protecting this image. For example, he is presently being attacked because of his odd friendship with Jeffery Epstein, the very wealthy man who committed suicide in jail after being charged with numerous sexual offenses involving minors. Just a few days ago, Trump called the people who are challenging him because of his relationship with Epstein “weak”.

In presenting his image, Trump attempts to convince people that he is a winner. This includes not only being a political winner and a financial winner, but in recent months he has presented himself as a “peacemaker”, using Israel’s war with Iran and Hamas in Gaza as examples. In doing this, Trump is seriously misleading people, especially his own supporters. These are some basic facts: during the last Presidential campaign, Trump promised that he would not interfere with Israel attacking Iran’s nuclear sites. This was in marked contrast to the Biden policy. Once elected, though, Trump changed his tune, repeatedly keeping Israel from bombing Iran, including the sites at which nuclear weapons were being produced. It has been reported that Trump was upset with his own Secretary of Defense for coordinating such an attack with Israel.

Finally, Israel attacked Iran without American forces being involved. Israel’s air force flew hundreds of sorties bombing key Iranian military sites, eliminating many of them, including the anti-aircraft missile sites. The work of the Israel air force was remarkable.  Despite flying hundreds of sorties, Israel did not lose a single airplane or pilot. It also bombed Iran’s nuclear sites damaging them but had a serious problem with the the two most important ones. They were buried so deeply underground that the Israeli air force did not have bombs big enough to eliminate them.

Once the Israeli air force had destroyed Iran’s defensive missiles, Trump ordered the United States’ most sophisticated bombers, the B-2,  to attack the nuclear sites. The B-2s  carried superbombs which could penetrate deep into the underground rock protection which Israel bombers could not penetrate.

After the B-2s had dropped their bombs, Trump described the Iran nuke sites as having been “completely and totally obliterated.” He did so even though the United States’ own intelligence stated that the destruction was only partial. Just this July, a new American assessment found that one of the sites was mostly destroyed setting back work there significantly, but the two others were not as badly damaged and may only have been degraded to the point where nuclear enrichment can resume in several months, if Iran wants to do so. The Israeli intelligence reports and the findings of the United Nation’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are consistent with this analysis.

It is clear that Trump has greatly overstated his accomplishments in Iran. What is unclear is whether his supporters will accept the truth or simply uncritically accept Trump’s exaggeration of the truth.

What causes Trump to disregard the truth? I suspect very strongly that it is a combination of political savvy, with an eye on the 2026 congressional elections, and his enormous ego, which keeps him from ever admitting that he is wrong.

Trump’s desire to have himself viewed as a peacemaker does not end with Iran. He has repeatedly stated in recent weeks that he will be responsible for a settlement between Hamas in Gaza and Israel will be reached in the near future. We will see soon whether there will be a settlement in Gaza (which I doubt). In any case, what has become clear is that Israel’s war in Iran, Israel’s war in Lebanon (against Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy), and Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza (also a part of Iran’s axis of resistance),  are all part one one war. All of the ultrareligious Muslim terrorists who oppose Israel have repeatedly stated that their ultimate goal is to destroy Israel and replace it with a Muslim theocracy. For them, it is a matter of religion. Unfortunately, Israel will never have peace until all of them agree to stop trying to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. So far, there is not even a hint they will not continue to pursue their objective.

Trump is sure not to change course. His supporters may believe his version of events. So may the folks in Norway who award the Nobel Peace Prize. While I hope not, I recognize that stranger things have happened.