Donald Trump stated the day before yesterday at the Évian summit a set of new and controversial headlines that deserve close attention.
Trump confirmed that the letter of intent between Washington and Tehran includes a ceasefire on all fronts, including the Lebanese front.
For Israel, military operations have not ended and will not stop until the complete disarmament of Hezbollah — something that has proven in the field to be extremely costly and time-consuming.
Trump made clear, in terms that leave no room for doubt or theorising, that he is in open disagreement with Benjamin Netanyahu over the manner in which the Israeli army has performed on the Lebanese front, saying it has taken too long and caused enormous destruction.
What is new in Trump's thinking is his proposal that Syria take charge of the file of taming Hezbollah, thereby removing Israel from the game — as though he were announcing to the world and to the Israeli public the failure of Netanyahu.
Bringing new Syria into the new Lebanon file is an American slap to the Israeli ally.
No one actually knows Syria's ability or willingness to play this difficult role.
The Syrian role in Lebanon is an old one, and it resembled an occupation: the Syrian security apparatus in Lebanon, acting on instructions from the regime of Assad the father and Assad the son, gave Hezbollah a free hand politically, financially, and in security matters, turning it into a force that transcended state authority and overrode any Lebanese sovereignty.
Trump now wants the Al-Shara regime to correct what the Assad regime corrupted.
This task is not as easy as Trump believes.