Barrack: Hezbollah and Iran are the obstacle and Israel at the Centre of Trump’s Middle East Vision

By Elijah J. Magnier –

Ambassador Tom Barrack’s latest essay, “A Personal Perspective – Syria and Lebanon Are the Next Pieces for Levant Peace,” offers a revealing glimpse into the mindset driving Washington’s post-Gaza diplomacy. Written in the glow of the Sharm el-Sheikh peace summit, the piece presents what Barrack calls “a renewed covenant” for the Middle East — a vision of prosperity and reconciliation under President Donald Trump’s leadership. Yet beneath the rhetoric of cooperation and regional renewal lies a striking pattern: the name Israel appears nineteen times in the text, while Palestine is entirely absent.

Barrack’s essay revolves unmistakably around Israeli strategic interests, which he explicitly invokes six times, making them the organising principle of his vision for regional peace and U.S. policy. Each reference situates Israel’s safety as the core measure of success: Syria’s rehabilitation is valued because it forms “the first leg of Israel’s northern security framework,” while Lebanon’s disarmament of Hezbollah is framed as “the second leg.” Hezbollah itself is described as “a constant red flag to Israel,” and Barrack calls its dismantling “Israel’s security imperative.” Even Syria’s diplomacy is praised only insofar as it contributes to “securing Israel’s northern frontier,” while the threat of renewed confrontation is couched as a matter of “Israel’s strength.” Across these six instances, Barrack’s concern runs deep — not simply for an ally among others, but for the consolidation of Israeli regional primacy. Israel’s stability and integration are presented as both the condition and the justification for every initiative Trump’s plan promotes. Syria’s reconstruction, Lebanon’s political reform, and the curbing of Iran’s influence all appear not as independent goals but as elements of a single design: the reinforcement of Tel Aviv’s dominance in the Levant.

Israeli dominance as the axis of peace