Rhian Lubin
The Independent / November 27, 2024
Trump officials were not directly involved in the negotiations, according to a senior Biden administration official.
Donald Trump’s team has tried to claim credit for the Israel–Hezbollah ceasefire hours after President Joe Biden announced it from the White House.
The Biden administration reportedly briefed the president-elect’s national security team to inform them of the agreement and the commitments made, but Trump officials were not directly involved in the negotiations, according to a senior Biden administration official.
The deal, which marks a major breakthrough in the devastating conflict that has gripped the Middle East, was actually brokered by Biden who called it a “historic” moment for the world.
“Today’s announcement is a critical step … and so I applaud the courageous decision made by the leaders of Lebanon and Israel to end the violence,” he said in remarks from the Rose Garden Tuesday.
“It reminds us that peace is possible. Say that again, peace is possible.”
Despite this, Trump’s incoming national security adviser, Mike Waltz, was quick to credit the president-elect for the deal.
“Everyone is coming to the table because of President Trump,” Waltz wrote in a post on X. “His resounding victory sent a clear message to the rest of the world that chaos won’t be tolerated. I’m glad to see concrete steps towards de-escalation in the Middle East.”
Waltz, whose position in the incoming Trump administration does not need Senate approval, has been a sharp critic of the Biden administration’s national security policy.
“I have never in my lifetime seen the world falling apart like it is under Joe Biden,” Waltz told Florida Politics in July. “We had a president who defeated ISIS, broke Iran, stood with Israel, always stood with our allies, made China pay. You didn’t see any spy balloons under President Trump, did you?”
Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the president-elect’s closest allies, meanwhile praised the Biden administration’s efforts in getting the ceasefire deal over the line – but also credited Trump.
“Well done to all those involved in reaching this agreement,” he said in a post on X. “I appreciate the hard work of the Biden Administration, supported by President Trump, to make this ceasefire a reality.”
One of Trump’s former National Security Council officials in his first administration, Richard Goldberg, also claimed that Hezbollah is pulling back because of the incoming Republican.
“There’s zero doubt that Iran is pulling back to regroup ahead of Trump coming into office,” he said. “It’s a combination of Israeli military success and Trump’s election—the ayatollah has no clothes and he knows we know.”
White House officials are now hopeful that calm in Lebanon will reinvigorate efforts to bring about an end to the devastating war in Gaza, where Hamas is still holding dozens of hostages and the conflict is more intractable.
The US is expected to lead a five-country monitoring committee to enforce the truce, while the UN peacekeeping force in the south of Lebanon (UNIFIL) would be reinforced.
“Over the coming days, the United States will make another push with Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and others, to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza with a hostage release,” Biden said on Tuesday.
Trump has so far stayed silent publicly about the ceasefire, but on the campaign trail previously boasted that once in office, he would quickly end the war between Israel and Hamas.
Rhian Lubin is a senior US reporter at The Independent
The Associated Press contributed to this reporting
