Suzanne Maloney

The Israelis are planning to occupy a large swath of territory in the south of Lebanon.

We know how that ended the last time in a perpetual war.

It contributed to the long-term weakening of the central state, the long-term strengthening of Hezbollah.

And it also was very costly for Israelis as well.

They lost many people there.

And, you know, if Lebanon becomes a failed state, if hundreds of thousands or millions of people are forced from their homes and Israel continues to occupy a significant swath of Lebanese territory, then again, I think it's going to be very difficult to build on the nascent Abraham Accords to create peace.

a real normalization across the region.

And it's going to be disastrous for a country that has so much potential, so many educated people, such an incredible, rich and diverse history.

And, you know, it will leave us here in the United States, once again, tied to an unstable, violent Middle East that we can't seem to withdraw from.

I think that Americans have put the 9-11 and the wars that were spawned in its aftermath very much in their rearview mirror.

And President Trump is very much part of having shifted that conversation.

However, you know, it's a very real possibility.

We know the Iranians have had relationships with terror networks all around the world.

They've had the capability to affect terrorist attacks from Asia to Europe to Latin America.

And while we haven't seen a lot of that on American soil in the very near term, we know that they credibly threatened both Iranian dissidents living in the United States as well as former senior officials, some of whom served in the first Trump administration and retained their government protection until President Trump came back into office last January.

There are always negotiations ongoing.

I think it's highly unlikely that we have Americans and Iranians sitting across the table from one another.

But there are messages that are being passed.

There are efforts that are being launched.

And particularly if the president goes forward with his announcements at various points in time that we are simply going to leave Iran.