Amid ongoing regional tensions, Brig. Gen. Amir Avivi (Res.), founder of the Israel Defense and Security Forum, expressed hopes on Newsmax on Tuesday that the incoming Trump administration will adopt a militarily assertive stance toward Iran, which he called the "head of the snake" fueling Middle Eastern instability.
"The expectation in Israel is to see a strong American leadership. It means dealing militarily with Iran. And this is not about 20 years [of] boots on the ground [like] in Iraq or Afghanistan. This is one airstrike, one major airstrike — a day or two — to dismantle all these military and nuclear sites." Avivi said during an in-studio appearance on "The Record With Greta Van Susteren."
While acknowledging Israel's capability to act alone, Avivi underscored the strategic advantage of U.S. collaboration. Doing it with the U.S. will shorten [the war] dramatically," he said, emphasizing that lasting peace requires addressing Iran's broader destabilizing role in the region.
The ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah, which took effect Wednesday, presents an opportunity to dismantle Hezbollah's influence, he said.
"The ceasefire is with Lebanon and Hezbollah," Avivi explained, "and the idea is that Lebanon needs to take responsibility, dismantle all the positions of Hezbollah in south Lebanon, and make sure that Hezbollah cannot rebuild itself."
He credited Israel's recent military operations with significantly degrading Hezbollah's capabilities, creating a unique opportunity for the international community to enforce United Nations Resolution 1559, which calls for the disarmament of Hezbollah.
"But Israel is relying only on Israel," Avivi stressed. "Israel is going to enforce this ceasefire. Hezbollah will never again be able to rebuild itself."
"Dismantling this whole Shia axis goes through something much more important: dealing with the head of the snake — that's Iran," he said.
Discussing Iran's potential response, Avivi suggested Tehran is on edge ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration. "Iran is very worried about what will happen from the 20th of January," he said. Avivi argued that Iran has been weakened by Israeli strikes, leaving its air defenses and proxies vulnerable. He called for swift action to capitalize on this position.
"This is the time to really deal with their nuclear plans and attack," Avivi said. "Together, the U.S. and Israel [can] deal militarily with this vicious terror government and bring down the Shia axis."
When asked about his expectations for the incoming Trump administration, Avivi said he envisioned broader peace and stability following the dismantling of Iran's proxies and influence, which would pave the way for alliances among Western, Israeli, and Sunni nations.
"This whole axis needs to be dismantled," he said. "And following that, we can have very big peace agreements and alliances that extend all the way to Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, [and] Oman."
As the region watches the incoming administration's policy unfold, Avivi expressed hope for strong leadership to stabilize what he described as a "globe [that] has really gone out of control."
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