Former NATO chief credits Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire to Trump’s imminent return to the White House

Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander James Stavridis said he believes the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire agreement reached this week happened in part because of the imminent return of President-elect Trump to the White House.

“Iran [is] very vulnerable. What that means is that in the fight that Israel continues to have with Hezbollah … you’re seeing Hezbollah willing to go to a ceasefire,” he told radio host John Catsimatidis in a Sunday interview on “The Cats Roundtable” on WABC 770 AM, according to The Hill.   

“I think that’s a direct result of the presence of a new Trump administration coming on.”

The truce, which began Wednesday, is seen as a step toward resolving conflict in the region following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. 

It is also seen as a sign that Hezbollah has been severely diminished as a threat to Israel, having lost most of their top leaders, including Hassan Nasrallah, their top leader from 1992 until he was killed by Israel this year. 

Before the agreement occurred this week, Hezbollah had said it would not stop targeting Israel with missiles and drones, which it has done daily since October 8 of last year, until Israel stopped fighting against Hamas in Gaza. Iran encouraged Hezbollah to accept the ceasefire, according to reports. 

“In many capitals around the world, the leaders are holding their breath. [They’re] just unsure of what’s coming,” Stavridis said.  

“If that is used as a negotiating ploy, as a way to keep an opponent off balance, it works out pretty well. When it’s used with our allies and partners and friends, like the NATO alliance, it can have consequences that are less good.”

Trump has been a staunch supporter of Israel and has widely pledged to swiftly end the nation’s unrest during his second administration. During his first term in office, he moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, a long-time pledge that no president had delivered on; he established the Abraham Accords, building diplomatic and trade relations between Israel and the Gulf States, and in 2019 he recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights. 

He recently named former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, a staunch supporter of Israel, as his ambassador there.