Trump reportedly pressures Netanyahu to withdraw from Syria and Lebanon

The repercussions of the three-year multi-front war across West Asia are still unfolding. This is apparently pushing the US to adapt its strategy, aiming to preserve its hegemony in the restive region before the balance of power tilts completely in favor of the Iran-led Axis of Resistance.

As Netanyahu continues to wreak havoc across the region, jeopardizing all US-sponsored truce agreements, US President Donald Trump is taking new steps toward Tel Aviv and Damascus that are being interpreted by analysts as implicit threats to favor Syria’s interim government as a regional ally over the unruly Israel.

Read more: Reflections on the US-Israeli multi-front war in West Asia: How the Axis of Resistance remains resilient

Trump inveigles Al-Sharaa into intervening in Lebanon

In late June, Syria’s interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, dismissed a proposal brought forward by Trump, in which the latter suggested that Syria intervene in Lebanon to dismantle Hezbollah.

With new geopolitical dynamics driven by the regional war, Trump has ostensibly reacted to Al-Sharaa’s statement by choosing to inveigle him to maintain Washington’s alliance with Damascus, rather than exerting pressure on the new Syrian president.

Last week, Trump announced that he would remove Syria from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism (SSoT) for the first time in nearly five decades, during a meeting he held with Al-Sharaa at the summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Ankara, Turkey.

On the sidelines of the summit, Trump was asked by reporters whether he still wanted Syria to be involved in disarming Hezbollah, and his answer was:

“They could help, we’ll find out. I think we’re making a lot of progress.”

“He would do a very good job,” the US president added, referring to his Syrian counterpart.

Trump exerts pressure on Netanyahu after appeasing Al-Sharaa

Citing US and Israeli officials, Axios reported on Tuesday, July 14, that Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) should withdraw from Syria and Lebanon.

However, Netanyahu, who has relentlessly endeavored to expand and perpetuate the regional war for his own political gain, seems to be unwilling to comply with Trump’s demand, especially as Israel is heading into elections next October.

These elections would determine the political future of the Israeli premier and even his political survival amid corruption charges. Therefore, Netanyahu has no cards left but to deliver on his promise of implementing the “Greater Israel” project by sustaining the occupation of the southern territories of Syria and Lebanon.

Although Israel agreed to pull its forces out of two “pilot zones” it is currently occupying in southern Lebanon as part of a US-backed framework agreement in early June, the IOF has not withdrawn its troops from those areas yet.

When it comes to Syria, Tel Aviv effectively derailed “security and normalization” talks with Damascus with its repeated violations of Syria’s sovereignty. The IOF escalated its assault on the Arab country over the last couple of weeks, while refusing to withdraw from the Syrian territories.