Trump will be forced to respond to Kremlin’s hand in Iran, Yemen — diplomat

He expressed this opinion in an interview with Antin Borkovskyi, host of the Studio West program on Espreso TV.

"If Trump did not understand that Ukraine cannot sign an agreement on minerals, the same U.S. Secretary of Treasury could not fail to understand that a country in the process of joining the European Union fundamentally cannot sign such an agreement," Bezsmertnyi said.

"Therefore, this agreement was obviously intended as a maneuver, including a maneuver designed to stall. While negotiations continue, while Ukraine makes adjustments, a compromise will be found, etc."

Bezsmertnyi noted that while Trump may not understand many aspects, there is also Bessent (U.S. Secretary of Treasury) who is fully aware of these things. This is the first point. The second point — the situation in Iran and Yemen will reveal to Washington that Russia is directly involved in these processes.

"So, besides escalating, Trump will increasingly see evidence of Russia managing the situation in the Middle East and coordinating the actions of Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and other terrorist organizations from Moscow. This will become obvious. And it will force him to maneuver because he will not be able to admit it immediately," the diplomat explained.

Bezsmertnyi emphasized that under such conditions, Trump would act as he did toward Israel and Netanyahu, trying to escape the situation.

"This can only be done by getting a small victory—any victory, even the release of prisoners, a general exchange, or something else. Otherwise, he will lose internally in the U.S. and externally," Bezsmertnyi said.

He pointed out that the emergence of new war fronts is a problem for the U.S.: "Earlier, the U.S. focused on helping Ukraine, but now they have to reflect on events in the Middle East, and now there will be a triune event: Iran, the Houthis, and Hamas. And all of this involves Israel. The situation is getting more complicated."

• On Saturday, March 15, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered U.S. Armed Forces to begin military action against the Houthis in Yemen. In response, the Iran-backed Houthis stated they were ready to "respond with escalation to escalation" after U.S. airstrikes in Yemen.
• On March 17, Trump threatened Iran with retaliation if the Houthi rebels did not stop attacking ships in the Red Sea.
• Furthermore, the U.S. decided to send a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East as part of Trump's administration's campaign to escalate airstrikes on the Houthi rebels.
• The Iran-backed Houthis claimed an attack by the U.S. on the night of Monday, March 31.
• On April 4, Iran ordered its military personnel to leave Yemen due to continuous U.S. strikes on the Houthi group.