FP - August 10, 2026 - Israel and Iran aren't buying what U.S. President Trump is selling ...

 

AUGUST 10, 2026  |  VIEW IN BROWSER  |  DOWNLOAD THE APP Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a news conference in Jerusalem on June 15. Ronen Zvulun/AFP via Getty Images Israel and Iran seem to agree on one thing: They aren’t buying what U.S. President Donald Trump is selling when it comes to a peace deal. After Hamas recently agreed to a U.S.-backed framework for disarmament, Trump declared “a monumental step toward lasting PEACE and SECURITY” and noted that Israel was “very happy” with the agreement. Yet Israel has expressed strong opposition to the disarmament roadmap, citing “serious security concerns.” Israeli withdrawal also seems far off in Lebanon, where the conflict has seen seven rounds of U.S.-brokered talks. It’s not that the Israeli public sees Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s forever wars as  stunning successes, according to David E. Rosenberg. But “Israelis believe the country has no choice but to pursue its enemies aggressively or risk another massacre,” he writes. Even with an election in October, the opposition can only nip at the edges of Netanyahu’s policies. When it comes to negotiating an end to the Iran war, meanwhile, Tehran sees its control of the Strait of Hormuz as powerful leverage. In a statement released on Saturday, it issued a list of demands for the United States before the waterway would open. The only way through, FP’s Howard French argues, is for Washington to confront what has been hiding in plain sight for decades: recognizing the legitimacy of Iran’s Islamist government and offering the country strong security guarantees, no matter how distasteful that seems to the foreign-policy establishment. —Amelia Lester, deputy editor On Our Radar U.S. attorney general confirmed. Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche was confirmed to the post in a narrow Senate vote over the weekend. Blanche faced pushback over the Justice Department deal to create a so-called anti-weaponization fund and its plans to give tax immunity to Trump and his family. FP columnist Julian E. Zelizer compares the muted reception to Blanche’s actions with Richard Nixon’s “Saturday Night Massacre,” in which the president attempted to instrumentalize the Justice Department for his own ends. The Wildberries theory. Until recently, tens of millions of ordinary Russians used an e-commerce platform called Wildberries to buy just about everything. Last month, though, Ukraine expanded its air campaign to its warehouses across Russia. As the company has lost up to one-third of its warehouse space and with consumer spending plummeting, Alexey Kovalev  outlines why a civilian object like a Wildberries factory can become a legitimate target. Canada’s tariff headache. In less than two weeks, the United States plans to impose 50 percent tariffs against many Canadian goods. Those tariffs aren’t just a headache for Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, though. For Trump’s new Federal Reserve chair, Kevin Warsh, they are among a host of Trump-induced problems without easy solutions. After all, FP’s Keith Johnson reports, countering a sluggish economy with easy money goes against everything that Warsh has preached. FP INSIDER Get our new signature tote Insiders unlock everything that FP has to offer, including exclusive dispatches and Q&As. For a limited time, you’ll also receive our signature tote, which is perfect for carrying around your copy of the magazine (or repping your geopolitical interests at the farmers market). Join the inner circle and start reading today. BECOME AN INSIDER