US President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Syria says Israel is continuing to carry out strikes in southern Lebanon because Hezbollah still possesses “thousands of rockets and missiles that are threatening it.”
“They’re trying, but they’re dinosaurs,” Tom Barrack says during a security conference in Bahrain about Lebanese leaders in reference to their efforts to disarm the Iran-backed Hezbollah, which he urges them to accelerate.
Concerning Jerusalem-Beirut ties, Barrack says that Israel “is sitting ready to make border and boundary agreements with all its neighbors, and it owes America a favor,” citing the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear program that he states led to “an incredibly reshaping of the region.”
Barrack, who also serves as US ambassador to Turkey, predicts that despite hostile relations between Ankara and Jerusalem, the two countries could soon reach a trade deal.
“Turkey and Israel will not be at war with each other,” continues Barrack. “You’re going to get alignment from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean.”
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