Former senior Mossad official Oded Eilam sharply criticized President Donald Trump’s handling of negotiations with Iran, warning that Israel’s confrontation with Tehran is far from over and describing the current situation as merely a temporary pause.

“It’s difficult to summarize where we are because we’re only in a pause,” Eilam said. “We haven’t finished anything, just as we haven’t finished anything on any front. We have achieved extraordinary military successes in every arena, but they are not truly being translated into diplomatic achievements.”

Eilam argued that one of the primary reasons for that gap is Trump’s approach toward Tehran.

“One of the central reasons is a capricious president named Trump, who is conducting negotiations in the Iranian bazaar,” Eilam said. “Every morning he comes to his stall with a sign that says, ‘By the end of the day I have to sell all my merchandise,’ and expects prices to drop. He doesn’t understand the terminology of the Middle East or its dialectic. The Iranians are giving him a master class.”

Despite the criticism, Eilam emphasized that Israel owes Trump a significant debt of gratitude.

“We have an enormous debt to this man,” he said. “He brought the Abraham Accords, was the dominant force behind the hostage deal, did what seven presidents before him failed to do, and struck Iran, which suffered severe blows.”

At the same time, Eilam warned that Trump can sometimes act against his own interests.

“We are dealing with a president who at times operates against his own interests and could write a glorious chapter in Barbara Tuchman’s ‘The March of Folly,’” he said.

Turning to the conflict with Iran and Hezbollah, Eilam said Israel must continue rejecting attempts by Tehran to dictate the rules of engagement.

“Israel must disconnect the equation in which the Iranian lawyer tells his Lebanese client, ‘I represent you, and I don’t care what you say,’” he said. “Israel did not accept that equation. Israel is sending a very clear message that the key to Beirut hangs on the wall in Tehran.”

Eilam argued that Israel’s most significant achievement in Lebanon has been its growing territorial control and continued pressure on Hezbollah.

“The thing that hurts the Iranians and Hezbollah the most is the loss of territory, and we are continuing to deepen that reality,” he said.

According to Eilam, Tehran is increasingly worried about growing cracks within Lebanese society, including among Hezbollah’s own Shiite base.

“What worries the Iranians most is that they are seeing the beginning of an internal unraveling in Lebanon, including within the Shiite community, where people are starting to ask questions,” he said.

“I speak with Lebanese people and closely follow what is happening there. We have never seen such sharp questions being asked from across the political spectrum.”

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