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U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Michael Waltz said Saturday on “My View with Lara Trump” that the Trump administration has created the “best chance in our lifetime” to break Hezbollah’s grip on Lebanon, arguing Iran and its proxies are on the defensive after a series of aggressive U.S. moves.
Waltz pointed to recent developments, including the political alignment of Lebanon under President Joseph Aoun “who’s trying to do the right thing,” Israel’s military crackdown on Hezbollah and the first-ever direct talks between Lebanon and Israel, expressing hope for peace.
A woman waves a Hezbollah flag as people travel south near Saida in Lebanon on April 17, 2026, the first day after a 10-day ceasefire took effect between Israeli forces and Hezbollah. (Adri Salido/Getty Images)
“I think we can take full advantage of [these conditions] and finally get this region back to where it was in President Trump’s first term, which is back to the peaceful Abraham Accords,” he said.
“Getting rid of Iran and its nefarious, malicious attacks all over the region, including trying to assassinate President Trump right here at home, will finally, finally allow us to focus on other places around the world and get us back to the extension of the Abraham Accords.”
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A woman walks past a billboard showing a military hand holding the Strait of Hormuz with Farsi text which reads, “In Iran’s hands forever,” “Trump couldn’t do a damn thing,” “The control of Strait of Hormuz will be Iran’s forever,” in Vanak Square, in northern Tehran, Iran, on April 16, 2026. (Vahid Salemi/AP)
The ambassador said President Donald Trump was “playing chess when the rest of the world is playing checkers,” commending his Iran strategy and dismissing concerns surrounding his rhetoric.
“I was just on the Senate this week. And, you know, critics were hand-wringing over some mean tweets and maybe an F-bomb from the president. But you know what? What do you say to a regime that is yelling ‘Death to America’ at every turn?”
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“And you know what? It worked. It got them back to the table,” he said.
Still, Iran’s willingness to negotiate is unclear. Waltz said Iran’s foreign ministry is in conflict with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
“The foreign minister says it’s [the Strait of Hormuz] is open. The IRGC says it’s closed. Regardless, it’s the U.S. Navy and President Trump as the commander-in-chief that decides what ultimately comes in and comes out. And I think the bigger picture here is that the Iranian regime cannot hold the entire world’s economy hostage,” Waltz said in a Sunday interview on “Meet the Press.”
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“They cannot mete out collective punishment because of a dispute over its nuclear program,” he continued.
Digital’s Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
