The agreement looks like a colossal collapse of long-held American positions. Its severity is surprising, but it also teaches us something about the two facts reflected in the headline. I see opportunity in this crisis. The Iranians are intoxicated by the belief that they have won, not yet realizing that the shrewd Trump may simply be buying time until the midterm elections, and that they may once again make the kind of mistake that hastens their own downfall.
Make no mistake: Trump is still fully with us. The United States joined this war to protect its own interests, and its interests alone. A nuclear weapon in the hands of a regime more ruthless and dangerous than the Nazis ultimately threatens America itself. And to the friends of Tucker Carlson, a well-known supporter of Qatar, I would suggest Trump say this: how fortunate we are to be confronting Iran alongside Israel, the best ally we have in the world. A country that has taught us not only unparalleled military professionalism, but also determination, national resilience and faith in the justice of its cause. Who exactly should America rely on instead? The French? The Spanish? Perhaps the British? The United States has no ally more formidable, more principled or more loyal than Israel, the Jewish state.
Let us try to look beyond the critical geostrategic headlines and understand the playing field, the players - and above all, who stole the ball.
The Qataris tried to hide it. But Qatar is the force behind this agreement. The Arab media cannot stop praising Doha. Not Pakistan, which was chosen to serve as mediator, but Qatar. And Qatar, which until now remained in the shadows, has been exposed. Let us not be confused: Qatar believes in the destruction of the Western world just as much as Iran does. The difference is that everything is wrapped in the carpets and enchantment of immense Oriental wealth. But they are not noble desert princes. They are barbarians in tailored suits. Qatar is a chocolate cake mixed with shards of glass. Good luck eating it. Ask a few Israelis.
Qatar may have tried to stay hidden, but it produced, drafted and financed the memorandum designed to save Iran. It is also expected to bankroll the release of Iranian assets. If Israel manages this correctly, Qatar has now officially positioned itself as an enemy not only of Israel, but of Western civilization as a whole. From this point forward, it will no longer be able to evade responsibility.
Qatar stole the ball in the middle of the game. It managed to seize the wheel of American foreign policy, wrench it sharply to one side—and drive it straight into the nearest wall. Drunk on years of success manipulating the world, the Qataris this time humiliated the United States and struck at the heart of the American nation. This time, they may have succeeded too well. Look carefully at the silence and the anger on the faces of Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth. The secretary of state and the secretary of defense represent the titanic power of America. Look at them closely—they resemble the leaders of the American administration after Pearl Harbor. We all know how Japan's story ended.
This is not a case of incompetent negotiations. Nor is it fair to blame an administration team that has done much for Israel in confronting Hamas. The Qataris simply identified weaknesses and exploited them. President Trump's team - Kushner, Witkoff and Vance- treated them as allies, even brothers, and revealed their vulnerabilities to them. Recall how moved Witkoff himself was by the gestures extended to him by Qatar and Hamas during the hostage negotiations in Doha. The Americans forgot one thing: in desert culture, brothers are often the first to be killed. Family honor, you know. And Western culture, in Qatari eyes, is the ultimate desecration of that honor.
The Qataris saw an opportunity to strategically unravel the United States. For nearly three decades, Qatar has steadily worked to erode the values of Western civilization through financial influence over cultural and intellectual institutions and through growing leverage across nations. Now it is aiming for the crown itself: influence over America. But Qatar, the viper of the modern world, has swallowed one animal too many. The next one may tear the snake open from within.
In doing so, Qatar is now threatening America's very existence. This agreement undermines two foundational pillars of U.S. strategy: the National Security Strategy (NSS) and the National Defense Strategy (NDS). These documents define the military, political and security priorities of the United States and, by extension, the broader Western world. The agreement crafted around Iran directly contradicts these objectives. It is, therefore, a direct blow to American national security.
Ironically, for the benefit of our readers in the White House, it places the United States, not Israel, in greater danger.
Consider an example. President Trump rightly boasts about removing millions of illegal immigrants, violent criminals and other dangerous individuals who entered the United States from Latin America. These migrants, he argues, were undermining the foundations of American society, much as similar trends have affected parts of Europe. Trump recognized the threat, acted decisively and sought to protect the country.
Yet Qatar, through this agreement with Iran, may have opened the door to something far more dangerous: the equivalent of unleashing millions of radical Shiite jihadists into the American system. Hundreds of billions of dollars, again flowing through Qatar, could be directed toward a single objective: the destruction of the "Great Satan." The Iranian Shiites, much like their Qatari counterparts, believe that redemption comes only through the destruction of non-Muslim civilization, led first and foremost by the United States.
Qatar and Turkey did everything they could, even a year ago, to prevent a war with Iran. They understood what was written here a year and a half ago: that Israel's toppling of the Iranian regime would transform Israel into the most important power in the Eastern Hemisphere after China, from Indonesia and India, through the Gulf states, Cyprus and Greece, all the way to Somaliland.
Despite their efforts, the war began. To Trump's credit, he again understood the magnitude of the moment and joined hands with us against the interests of Qatar and Erdogan. They never forgot that, and since then have done everything possible to prevent the fall of the ayatollahs. In this round they succeeded. But in the larger campaign, they have already lost.
Israel has already become the most influential power in the Eastern Hemisphere. During the war itself, and alongside the emerging victory of Israel and the United States, many countries across the Eastern Hemisphere, led by India, have begun aligning with Israel to create a regional economic, security and political alliance, with Israel serving as its central anchor.
Now, because of the trap Qatar laid for the United States, America has lost much of its credibility. The unthinkable is happening: those same countries are now courting Israel even more aggressively—as the region's sole moral, economic and military anchor. Ironically, this may leave Israel as the only bridge capable of restoring America's standing among those allies. Did you hear that, Tucker?
And this is precisely where Ron Dermer is missing.
Israel managed to weave together its remarkable geopolitical achievements because it had one of the most gifted strategists in its history. In large part because he suffered from a particular kind of blindness and deafness: he neither saw nor heard anything except what was good for the State of Israel and loyalty to those he served. The prime minister charted a geopolitical vision worthy of praise. But no leader succeeds without an executor. That was Dermer.
His absence is a central reason for the loud misunderstanding that has developed between Israel and the United States. The enormous ship that is America may be steered by the president, but it is operated through dozens of levers, and every one of them requires engagement. Over the past three years, countless moments with the potential to become crises were handled professionally and transformed into strategic gold for both countries.
And then there remains the possibility that cannot truly be discussed until December: that we are witnessing the greatest deception in history.
Because it is difficult to believe that the Americans built such a magnificent superpower only to let it fall prey to Iran and Qatar. Perhaps Trump is a strategic genius after all. Perhaps he is constructing the greatest Trojan Horse ever conceived, more fascinating than the original tale itself. And perhaps the Iranians, always praised as master players, are merely actors in his production: playing the role of Troy, the horse and, ultimately, the corpses. If they are cast according to character, the role that suits them best may well be the dead bodies.