The U.S. is being urged to help lower the escalating tensions in the Middle East

Transcript

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

In Lebanon, a top Hezbollah commander was buried as the leader of the Iran-backed Lebanese group vowed it would retaliate against Israel for his killing. Iran has also vowed to strike back after the assassination of the top political leader of Hamas in Iran. He was negotiating in U.S.-brokered talks for a cease-fire in Gaza. So the region is bracing for whatever may come in the days ahead in Lebanon, Gaza, Israel and Iran. Some are looking to the U.S., a staunch ally of Israel, to bring the region back from the brink. Here's what Lebanon's caretaker foreign minister Abdallah Bou Habib said to me this week.

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ABDALLAH BOU HABIB: The U.S. has to move quickly and make Israel stop this aggressions that it's undertaking. It is the U.S. that can only produce some results. And so far, we haven't seen anything.

FADEL: So what can the U.S. do? Former U.S. ambassador to Israel and now senior fellow at the Harvard Belfer Center Edward Djerejian joins us now to discuss. Good morning. Thanks for being on the program.

EDWARD DJEREJIAN: Good morning, Leila.

FADEL: So now you heard the Lebanese foreign minister, Bou Habib, there say that only the U.S. can stop things from spiraling out of control. Is U.S. diplomacy proving effective in this moment?

DJEREJIAN: Well, the United States' role is critical...

FADEL: Yeah.

DJEREJIAN: ...In terms of moving forward out of this very dangerous situation that can spiral into an expanded war in the Middle East, which would certainly be against U.S. national security interests and what the Biden administration has been trying to avoid from the onset of the October 7, October 8 incidents. So, yes...

FADEL: Yeah, the attacks by Hamas on October 7.

DJEREJIAN: Exactly. So the U.S. role is important, but I think it's a U.S. role that would have to seek collaboration certainly from Israel, number one, which the U.S. supports fully and therefore has influence on. But we've seen it's very limited in terms that the prime minister of Israel, Netanyahu, has virtually snubbed President Biden in several instances on getting a cease-fire, the release of hostages.

FADEL: Well, let me ask you about that because, you know, we heard Secretary of Blinken say the U.S. didn't know and wasn't involved in the killing of Hamas' political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Iran. Israel hasn't claimed responsibility publicly, but it's assumed by Israel and Hamas that it's them. So them not knowing. I mean, how much influence does the U.S. administration actually have over this prime minister and Israel in this moment?

DJEREJIAN: Both proven to be quite limited because Netanyahu has decided to really pursue his own course of not really prioritizing the cease-fire negotiations and the hostage releases, but prioritizing the war in Gaza with his goal of destroying Hamas. I think it's very telling, Leila, that when he addressed the U.S. Congress, he stated what his vision was for Gaza. And it wasn't a strategic vision. What he said is that my vision for Gaza is demilitarization of Gaza and deradicalization. Well, that's not a strategic vision. That's a tactic - and not one word of cease-fire, hostage releases, Palestinian prisoner releases, rehabilitation of Gaza, moving forward on Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in the future for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state living in peace and security next to Israel, which is certainly the Biden administration's goal. And yet no mention of a strategic outcome, but tactics, in order to prolong the war, and the argument is made for him to do that in order to stay in power and not have to face the litigations that are - will be against him once he steps down or is not elected.

FADEL: So what can the U.S. do in this moment? I mean, it certainly doesn't have much influence on Iran or its backed militias in the region. And it seems, as you point out, quite limited on this prime minister, who, many will say, is prioritizing his political ambitions. I mean, what can the U.S. do? And what happens if there is a wider war? We only have 30 seconds.

DJEREJIAN: Well, I think the U.S. can do much more than it is doing. First, this is a moment - it's a moment of danger and opportunity. The danger is an expanded war in the Middle East. And after our experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq, this is certainly something the United States should avoid, and we should avoid being dragged into a war with Iran by Israel. So to answer your question directly, the United States does have influence, but it has to employ it in an intelligent manner. Iran does not want an expanded war. Nor does Hezbollah.

FADEL: We'll have to leave it there, unfortunately. Edward Djerejian is a former U.S. ambassador to Israel and senior fellow at the Harvard Belfer Center. Thank you for your time, and I'm so sorry that we ran out.

DJEREJIAN: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.