total-- : --time0:0011:57 AM • May 19 2026 IDTU.S. President Donald Trump has expressed his desire not to "get stuck" in Middle East conflict and clearly wants to avoid a renewal of full-on war with Iran – but he may not have a choice, Haaretz senior analyst Amos Harel told the Haaretz Podcast."The Iranians are not playing ball. They're not willing to make the concessions he's demanding," Harel said. "Under these circumstances, he may be pushed into a corner" and resume strikes on Iranian targets.It is a scenario that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clearly desires, Harel said, but it isn't clear whether Trump will include Israel directly in the offensive if it returns to striking Iran. The Israeli military is, he notes, on "high alert."On the podcast, Harel speaks to host Allison Kaplan Sommer about the "fake cease-fires" in Israel's multiple fronts – where agreements exist on paper, but attacks and drone strikes continue – in Gaza, between Iran and the Gulf states, and between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.In Lebanon, he noted, the number of IDF and Lebanese casualties – the latter of which recently passed 3,000 – are "massive" considering that there is no full-scale war officially raging and a recently renewed cease-fire agreement is supposed to be in place."We're shedding blood there, and this is not going anywhere positive soon," Harel said. "It all goes back to the fact that Netanyahu time and time again insists on not initiating any kind of diplomatic solution after the guns go silent.""After operational success is achieved, he always refuses because of his political situation and refuses to undertake any kind of serious negotiations with the other side."In the NewsSister of Irish President Reportedly Detained by Israel on Gaza FlotillaUnmoved by Trump's Ticking Clock, Iran Forms a New Reality in the Persian Gulf`Israeli Police Monitor Foreign Journalists Critical of Israel to Bar Their EntryPakistan Deploys Jets, Thousands of Troops to Saudi Arabia During Iran WarSix Killed, Three Wounded in IDF Strikes in Southern Lebanon, Local Reports SayRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIHundreds Protest at New York Times HQ Over Column Alleging Abuse by IsraelisEverybody Loses in the Cynical Israeli-Palestinian Sexual Violence CompetitionWelcome to the Most Shameful Day in the Jewish CalendarIsraeli Settler Filmed Abusing Palestinian-owned Dog in West BankIsraeli Teens Storm Muslim Quarter in Old City, Haaretz Reporter AttackedIsrael Attacks New York Times for Report on Sexual Violence by Israeli Forces