In a wide-ranging interview, veteran economist and global affairs commentator Professor Jeffrey Sachs offered a sweeping critique of current U.S. foreign policy, laying out a bleak picture of intensifying global conflict, political dysfunction in the West, and missed opportunities for diplomacy. His remarks touched on the Middle East, Europe, U.S.-China relations, and the broader trajectory of American influence.
At the center of Sachs’ analysis is the deepening instability in the Middle East, which he attributes largely to the United States’ unconditional support for Israel’s hardline policies. According to him, the recent escalation in Gaza, potential military confrontations with Iran, and wider regional tensions in places like Yemen, Lebanon, and Syria, stem from what he calls “the full control of the extremist Israeli government over US foreign policy in the Middle East.”
He characterizes the Biden and Trump administrations alike as having ceded American sovereignty in regional matters, accusing both of enabling what he calls Israel’s “murderous attacks” and broader ambitions of territorial domination. In his words, Netanyahu has long harbored “a plan for regime change through war with Iran,” and this agenda has effectively hijacked American strategy. The abandonment of the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) under Trump, and the Biden administration’s unwillingness to reengage meaningfully, are in Sachs’ view emblematic of a broader pattern: diplomacy is being replaced by militarism.
He bluntly asserts that the Trump administration “killed” the JCPOA “under the guidance of Netanyahu,” despite Iran’s consistent interest in diplomacy. The consequences, Sachs warns, are profound. “The only path to peace,” he says, “is a two-state solution. The only other way is ongoing slaughter.” Instead, what he sees is an Israeli strategy of “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians and a regional policy of domination backed by U.S. arms and funding.
This militarized approach, Sachs argues, is not just morally reprehensible, but strategically disastrous. He sees the current trajectory potentially leading to a full-scale war with Iran, a country with a powerful military and a long civilizational history, deeply allied with Russia. “If there were a war with Iran,” he warns, “it would be horrible, tragic, dangerous, and the potential tinder for World War III.”
Sachs’ criticisms are not limited to the Middle East. He sees a similar lack of strategic coherence in the U.S. approach to global power competition, particularly with China and Russia. Trump’s economic nationalism, expressed through sweeping tariffs and threats of decoupling, is, in his words, “economic ignorance.” Far from strengthening the U.S. position, these moves are “uniting the world against the United States.”
He calls the notion that tariffs will fix trade imbalances or restore American industry “completely fallacious.” Instead, he predicts that such policies will “isolate the United States both economically and diplomatically,” weakening its global role and encouraging other nations to build alternative trading systems.
In Sachs’ view, the Trump administration doesn’t operate according to any coherent grand strategy. Instead, he describes it as “improvisation” laced with bluster and guided largely by domestic politics and lobby interests—especially those aligned with Israel. He sees Trump’s posture toward Russia as transactional rather than strategic, guided by a crude division of influence and resources rather than a broader geopolitical framework.
Europe, meanwhile, doesn’t escape Sachs’ scrutiny. He portrays the continent as confused, fractured, and increasingly irrelevant. “Europe basically doesn’t have any foreign policy right now,” he says, lamenting the absence of coherent leadership on major crises such as Ukraine or the Middle East.
While Britain and France, he notes, have taken the most aggressive stance in supporting Ukraine militarily, Sachs finds their actions puzzling and counterproductive. He suggests that Ukraine, under martial law and led by a government increasingly unaccountable to its people, is being pushed into self-destructive behavior by its European allies. “It’s suicidal, what Ukraine is doing,” he says, arguing that serious negotiations are the only viable path forward.
The sabotage of diplomacy in Europe is especially frustrating to Sachs. He criticizes leaders like Macron and Starmer for failing to explore diplomatic solutions or initiate serious talks with Russia. “Not a moment of diplomacy,” he says, calling this absence “unforgivable.”
His critique extends to the broader political culture in Europe. According to Sachs, elections are being undermined or outright canceled, while popular anti-establishment figures are being removed from the political field. “No politician in Europe seems to act in the interest of his or her country,” he says, painting a picture of deep political decay.
Sachs saves some of his harshest words for the broader implications of current U.S. leadership on the world stage. He accuses Trump of arrogance and belligerence, not just toward adversaries, but toward allies like Canada and Mexico. “Trump is full of bluster from morning till night and full of hostility,” Sachs says, claiming that his conduct is driving away international partners.
While he acknowledges Trump’s occasional rhetorical gestures toward avoiding war with Russia, he is skeptical of the underlying motivations, seeing them as less about peace and more about carving up spheres of influence. In contrast, Iran, he argues, is viewed by Trump officials almost entirely through the lens of Israeli politics—as a target rather than a sovereign actor.
The overall picture Sachs paints is one of declining American influence, increasingly erratic Western leadership, and a world slipping toward conflict through a combination of arrogance, inertia, and ideological capture. For all the chaos he outlines, the central message is clear: without serious diplomacy, recognition of mutual interests, and respect for international law, the current trajectory could lead to unprecedented global instability.
“If anyone stands up to it,” he says, referring to current power dynamics, “the Netanyahu doctrine is kill them, overthrow them.” That doctrine, he argues, has spread beyond Israel—and unless checked, it threatens to engulf not just the Middle East, but the global order itself.
- Watch the interview here.