Barrack warns Israel 'cannot defeat Hezbollah', urges negotiations

Trump's envoy also claims Turkiye is preparing to 'give up' its Russian S-400 missile defense in exchange for purchasing the F-35 warplane

05.12.2025

News Desk

Source:https://thecradle.co/articles/barrack-warns-israel-cannot-defeat-hezbollah-urges-negotiations

Israel will not be able to achieve its goals by trying to defeat Hezbollah militarily, US Special Envoy Tom Barrack stated on 5 December, amid fears Tel Aviv may launch a new full-scale war on Lebanon.

While speaking on stage at the Milken Institute Middle East and Africa Summit in Abu Dhabi on Friday, Barrack said that it is doubtful the Lebanese army will disarm Hezbollah, and that Israel may escalate its war against the Lebanese resistance movement as a result.

However, Barrack expressed doubts that Hezbollah can be defeated militarily.

“My personal opinion is: you kill one terrorist, you create 10,” he said. “That can’t be the answer. There has to be another answer.”

He urged Lebanon’s leaders to agree to direct negotiations with Israel.

“It’s time to march to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, sit down and have a discussion,” he said. “It’s time to end this.”

Barrack, who is also a US envoy for Syria and Ambassador to Turkiye, said he’s hopeful Congress will repeal the Caesar Act, which imposed sweeping sanctions on the Syrian government in 2019, crushing the country’s currency and plunging millions into extreme poverty.

The US has not yet lifted the sanctions regime, which was imposed to pressure former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to resign.

In December of last year, the US, Israel, and their allies successfully toppled Assad, installing former Al-Qaeda and Islamic State commander Ahmad al-Sharaa in power.

Trump has stated it is necessary to revoke the Caesar sanctions to allow US companies and Gulf states such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia to invest in Syria.

During the Milken Institute event, Barrack added that Turkiye is moving toward giving up its Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems.

Ankara’s purchase of the S-400 has caused the US to bar the Turkish government from purchasing Washington's most advanced warplane, the F-35.

“My belief is that those issues will be resolved in the next upcoming four to six months,” Barrack predicted.

When Barrack was asked by Bloomberg editor Paul Wallace at the event if Ankara was getting closer to getting rid of the Russian S-400 system, he replied, “Yes.”

NATO has said Russia could gain crucial intelligence if Turkiye uses the S-400 system alongside F-35 warplanes.

In 2024, Israel signed a deal to receive additional F-35s, bringing its total fleet to 75.

Last month, US President Donald Trump agreed to sell an undisclosed number of F-35s to Saudi Arabia during Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman's visit to the White House.

However, any F-35s delivered to Saudi Arabia will not be equipped with the most advanced features, to ensure Israel maintains a qualitative edge over other regional states.

Ambassador Barrack added that Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have a “bromance” that has brought the two countries closer since the US president returned to the White House in January for his second term.