Hamas Must Disarm or Face Systematic De-escalation, Former Trump Adviser Warns

Former Trump foreign policy adviser and author Walid Phares said President Donald Trump has made it clear that Hamas must disarm or it will be disarmed.

“What’s happening right now is the formation of that international security force, and it seems like this force will be the one that would slowly, but surely, in coordination with Egypt, Jordan, and Israel, disarm Hamas,” Phares said.

“That’s the central focus of the whole equation,” he added.

“Years from now, Gaza could be either Kandahar … or it could be like Dubai,” he said.

When discussing Iran, Phares stated that the Trump administration is asking the regime to commit to the bare minimum of not developing nuclear weapons.

“The regime is really afraid of what they see, and they are also afraid of a population which lost about 50,000 people,” Phares said.

“They know that any agreement they sign with the United States or the international community, the population on the inside is not going to accept,” he added.

Phares said the minimum Iranian citizens would accept is a transfer of power from the Iranian regime to a new transitional government.

He also claimed U.S. intelligence capabilities give it an edge in any conflict involving Iran.

“We will know before if the regime is going to use ICBMs,” Phares said.

While Iran was able to strike Israel with several missiles during its 12-day war with Israel, this time Israel would have full backing from the United States, leaving the regime with a difficult decision.

“If they sign an agreement, the population is going to overrun them,” Phares said.

“If they don’t sign the agreement, the U.S.-led coalition is going to target them,” he added.

“The targeting of the U.S. is not carpet bombing Iran,” Phares clarified.

“It’s not the bombing of Iran. It’s the specific targeting of two militias.”

“If you paralyze those two militias, the population will do the rest,” Phares said.