What does Trump's surprise Iran pivot mean for Israel?

2026-03-23 - 13:04

The practical meaning of Trump's surprise announcement of negotiations with Iran is, first and foremost, the withdrawal of the ultimatum he issued two days ago – on Saturday – threatening to strike Iran's power plants and energy infrastructure if Tehran continued to block shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. On the surface, there is no pause in other strikes – and the coming hours will tell whether that assumption holds, or whether Trump has agreed to a full ceasefire. First, a word on the contacts. Israel Hayom has reported on Iranian outreach to the United States since the start of the war, approaches that were rejected by the Americans because Iran was unwilling to commit to baseline conditions.  Video: US President Donald Trump tells reporters he is not interested in a ceasefire. Credit: X Now, under the shadow of the ultimatum, those contacts have resumed. I don't have full confirmation of this, but Iran appears willing to accept what it previously refused. Trump hints at this in the opening of his announcement – negotiations toward an end to hostile operations in the Middle East. In other words, the removal of the Iranian threat to Israel and to the entire region. Such a bombastic declaration is, of course, an exaggeration – so long as radical Islam exists, hostile operations in the region will not end. But if Iran is on its way to talks about an arrangement to end hostile operations, it would mean that the core American and Israeli demands are being met. The nuclear facility in Isfahan, Iran (Photo: Reuters) Those demands concern the nuclear program – ending the Iranian nuclear project, the missile program, Iran-backed regional terror organizations, the fundamental removal of the Iranian threat to regional states, the abolition of the "export of the revolution" (Iran's ideological doctrine of spreading its Islamic revolutionary ideology abroad) policy, and its role in fomenting wars. If these things are achieved, this war ends in a crushing – though not complete – American and Israeli victory. Not complete, because the Islamist regime will survive and will try by every means to return to its old ways and its shameful habits.