A Biden-brokered cease-fire has begun in Lebanon. Trump’s team is claiming credit.
President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced that Israel and Lebanon had agreed on a cease-fire to end nearly 14 months of fighting.
Donald Trump’s team has claimed credit for the cease-fire deal between Israel and Hezbollah, which took effect in Lebanon on Wednesday morning.
The agreement, aimed at ending nearly 14 months of fighting, was described by President Joe Biden as “designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities.”
Under the terms of the deal, Israel’s military will withdraw from Lebanon over a 60-day period while Hezbollah moves its forces north and the Lebanese army deploys to the south.
Mike Waltz, the President-elect’s national security advisor, posted on X that “everyone is coming to the table because of President Trump.”
Waltz continued by saying that Trump’s victory sent a “clear message to the rest of the world that chaos won’t be tolerated.”
According to the Associated Press, a senior Biden administration official said that Trump’s team was kept informed about negotiations as they unfolded.
The official added that the incoming Trump team was not directly involved in the talks.
Richard Goldberg, an advisor at the Washington group Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, told the AP that Iran —which would have had to give its approval to Hezbollah for the deal — factored Trump’s presidency into the agreement.
“There’s zero doubt that Iran is pulling back to regroup ahead of Trump coming into office,” said Goldberg. “It’s a combination of Israeli military success and Trump’s election — the ayatollah has no clothes and he knows we know.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’ said in a televised speech that Israel would attack Hezbollah if it broke the terms of the cease-fire or gave any inkling of preparing to attack again.
With only 54 days in office, Biden now hopes to redouble his efforts for a cease-fire in Gaza.
“They, too, deserve an end to the fighting and displacement,” he said. “The people of Gaza have been through hell. Their world has been absolutely shattered. Far too many civilians in Gaza have suffered far too much.”
However, with time running out, there is fear in the White House that it will be Trump who will take credit for bringing an end to the war, according to The Times.
The World Bank Group estimates that the total damages incurred due to the war in Lebanon are around $8.5 billion, of which $5.1 billion are economic losses.
“President Trump has been crystal clear that his support for Israel and his commitment to peace in the Middle East is steadfast. Hezbollah understands this is their best opportunity to get a more favorable deal done,” a representative for the Trump-Vance transition team told B-17.
“Iran-backed proxies clearly see the clock ticking as President Trump will soon return to the White House with a strong national security team, including Marco Rubio, Mike Waltz, and Pete Hegseth, with US intelligence led by Tulsi Gabbard and John Ratcliffe. President Trump rightfully predicted that actors in the region would make moves toward peace because of his historic victory — and that’s exactly what we are seeing take place.”
Representatives for Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
