Trump ignoring 'open problem' that risks blowing up peace talks — and soon: expert
Far Left
U.S. and Iranian officials met in Switzerland Sunday ahead of negotiations to solidify the tentative peace deal between Washington and Tehran and bring about an end to the U.S. war against Iran, but according to one expert, President Donald Trump and his administration are ignoring a pressing issue that risks blowing up talks before they’ve even started.“I'd be surprised to be that optimistic,” said Richard Haas, former policy director at the State Department, during an appearance Sunday on MS NOW when asked about his thoughts on the likelihood of peace talks succeeding.The pressing issue, Haas warned, was Israel’s ongoing bombardment and occupation of Lebanon, which since March has killed nearly 4,000 Lebanese, wounded close to 12,000 and sparked a humanitarian crisis affecting more than one million people. In the first clause of the tentative peace deal agreed to by Washington and Tehran, a provision explicitly calls for Israel to end its military operations in Lebanon.“What happens if and when Iran demands that Israel vacate Lebanon altogether, that Israel not go back into Lebanon?” Haas said. “That is going to be something of a red line for Israel, and the question is what does the United States do? Do we put pressure on Israel, or do we tell Iran 'no way?' So there's no way you can solve the Lebanon issue once and for all, this has been an open problem for decades and it's going to continue to be one of the many things that's going to really bedevil these negotiations going on.”Trump has tried to pressure Israel to halt – or at least shrink – its military operations in Lebanon, but has been refuted by Israel each time.
President Donald Trump on Sunday said British Prime Minister Keir Starmer “will resign” and ripped the Labour leader over his immigration and North Sea oil policies. “Keir Starmer will resign as Prime Minister of The United Kingdom,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “He failed badly on two very important subjects- IMMIGRATION AND ENERGY (OPEN NORTH […]
U.S. and Iranian negotiators began high-stakes talks in Switzerland on Sunday aimed at hammering out the details of a broader agreement on Tehran’s nuclear program, with Iranian officials entering the discussions insisting they will not give up the country’s ability to enrich uranium. The negotiations, led by Vice President JD Vance for the United States […]
President Donald Trump is threatening years in jail for anyone who vandalizes the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C. On Friday, U.S. Park police arrested Olympic canoeist David Hearn, charging him with destruction of government property after he reached into the water to touch a piece of the peeling paint. Hearn denies the charge. NBC’s Gary Grumbach reports for Sunday TODAY.
President Donald Trump on Sunday issued a warning to Iran that it must stop its proxies from “causing trouble” in Lebanon or Tehran risks being “hit” by the United States. “Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “If they don’t, we’ll hit […]
President Trump said the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is “probably” going to be drained for repairs after a recent algae bloom and instances of peeling paint following his administration’s major renovation of the Washington landmark. “We met with contractors today, will probably be forced to release and drain much of the water in order to…
On Monday, Trump announced beginning concepts of a plan to discuss an outline of understanding on how to end the war in Iran. It was Trump’s 39th such announcement since he started the war.Israeli leaders, ostensible partners in Trump’s war, are now convinced that Trump’s MOU with Iran makes Obama’s 2015 Iran nuclear deal look perfect in comparison, after Trump tore that deal up, calling it "a deal at the highest level of incompetence" and "the worst deal ever negotiated." Obama’s 2015 deal featured highly detailed, multi-decade uranium enrichment caps and verification protocols, while the core mechanisms of Trump’s MOU remain unfinalized and deferred for 60-days. Although Trump’s MOU may pause the fighting he started, it has not established any permanent, legally binding nuclear dismantlement or the long-term inspection protocols Trump initially demanded, and it includes a plan to hand Iran up to $300 billion in damages. The biggest achievement will be the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which, of course, is simply a return to the prewar status quo.Fox News, after promoting Trump’s attacks on the 2015 Iran deal, reported the MOU saying, Trump “deserves credit for bringing this conflict to this point.” Fox News manipulated Trump into Iran Fox may be reluctant to criticize an end to a costly war it encouraged. Fox News and its hawkish hosts played an aggressive role in pushing Trump toward greater military force in Iran — a troubling dynamic critics call a "doom loop" between the White House and the network, a self-reinforcing feedback cycle where the administration's grievances and policies prioritize media spectacle over governance, which in turn shapes presidential policy and messaging.As early as June 2025, Fox talking heads pushed for war with Iran, encouraging Trump into open conflict. Mark Levin reportedly helped push the June 2025 U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities by convincing Trump over lunch that the country was just days away from getting a nuclear weapon. When a fragile ceasefire was declared in April 2026, rather than celebrating, many Fox voices including senior security analyst Jack Keane and host Brian Kilmeade demanded it be broken. These voices agitated for the Trump administration and Israel to resume aggressive bombing campaigns rather than continue diplomatic negotiations, demanding Trump restart the war and, in their words, "finish the job." Host Ainsley Earhardt even told Trump that Americans were supportive of escalating aggression in Iran, which was not true.Sean Hannity, Brian Kilmeade, and Jesse Watters all floated the idea of flooding Iran with small arms to provoke an uprising. Kilmeade, one of the network's most prominent hawks and co-host of Fox & Friends, proposed relentless U.S. strikes against Iranian targets to "open up the strait," "grab the uranium," and "target bad actors," an apparent embrace of assassination. Other Fox News hosts also pushed Trump to seek regime change in Iran, hosting retired Gen. Keith Kellogg, who called for "putting boots on the ground" and for the U.S. to seize Iranian territory. This was not commentary or news, it was Fox television personalities directly shaping foreign policy at the highest level.The doom loop is dangerousWhat makes this dynamic especially fraught is the structural relationship between Fox and the Trump administration. Trump has appointed more than two dozen former Fox News hosts into administration positions, blurring the line between media and government in an unprecedented way. When Trump calls into Fox & Friends, he is not just doing an interview — he is engaging a network with an inherent interest in promoting conflict and spectacle. Fox hosts also manipulate Trump with hyperbolic praise: when Trump ordered military strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, Sean Hannity said the strikes would "go down in history as one of the greatest military victories," while other hosts claimed Trump deserved "six Nobel Peace Prizes" and a spot on Mount Rushmore. Trump went on to demand—and expect— both honors.Fox's lockstep promotion of Trump's war reflects the network's calculated plan to keep MAGA enraged and engaged. War framed as a righteous confrontation with a Judeo-Christian undertones is good television. It generates ratings, emotional investment, and brand loyalty. It is what happens when the line between journalism and political advocacy dissolves. A network that functions as an echo chamber for a sitting president, with hosts who propose military strikes rather than analyze them, and treats war as a network ratings strategy, has abdicated its responsibility to the public and should be held to account. The feedback loop between Fox and the White House helped produce a war that cost American lives, roiled the global economy, and left our allies disgusted. Even if Trump’s MOU miraculously holds, analysts predict the global economy will take months and even years to recover.
