The Islamic Republic of Iran is likely to “double-cross” U.S. President Donald Trump in any agreement it reaches with Washington, and he will eventually retaliate, American evangelical leader Mike Evans said on Monday.
The remarks by Evans, founder of Jerusalem’s Friends of Zion Museum, come amid high-stakes negotiations aimed at ending the war and addressing Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
“If Iran double-crosses Trump and makes a fool out of him—and I believe they will—he will get his revenge and he will finish the job,” Evans told JNS in an interview in Jerusalem during a visit to Israel. “Donald Trump plays the long game; while they are playing checkers, he is playing chess.”
Evans predicted that another round of fighting could break out next year following the U.S. midterm elections and said that by 2028, the Islamic Republic, which has ruled Iran for nearly half a century, would have fallen.
Evans said Trump’s weekend call for Arab states, led by Saudi Arabia, to join the landmark 2020 Abraham Accords was “extremely realistic” and could be achieved by next year.
He attributed Trump’s steadfast support for Israel to his evangelical Christian base and downplayed recent public opinion polls showing declining support for Israel in some sectors of American society.
“Most of it came from Gaza, which fed and fueled the narrative,” Evans said. “Once there is calm, there will be healing. It will take some time to re-educate.”
He acknowledged the PR challenges Israel faces after more than two and a half years of war on multiple fronts.
“You are draining a swamp filled with alligators and hoping the alligators don’t bite, so there will be some setbacks amid the successes,” he said. “You can’t gauge moral clarity by public opinion.”
Evans began his latest visit to Israel with a stop at the Tel Aviv courthouse, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s criminal trial is ongoing, to show support for him.
“We have been friends for four-and-a-half decades,” he said, explaining the unusual venue for the meeting.
