Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu appears to have been caught off-guard by U.S. President Trump’s announcement yesterday of an imminent agreement with Iran over a 60-day truce. Neither he nor his office had anything to say in the hours after the announcement. Then two unnamed Israeli officials told i24 News: “We are surprised by Trump’s announcement; we need to see what the Iranians publish to determine if it’s accurate.” The Tel Aviv-based i24 then cited an Israeli source saying: “Everyone lives off Trump’s tweets. We need to hear what the Iranians publish to know whether the president is indeed accurate in his assessment. Experience shows that not so much...”
Netanyahu’s initial public comment was not issued until today, and it was a feeble attempt at damage control, spinning the development to project his control over the situation:
“As long as I am the Prime Minister of Israel—Iran will not have nuclear weapons. President Trump and I are in full agreement on this issue. For over 30 years, I have been at the forefront of the international struggle against Iran’s nuclear program. Were it not for this struggle, Iran would have long ago possessed atomic bombs to destroy Israel. Iran is working to destroy the Jewish state, and I am dedicating my life to preventing them from doing so.”
The Times of Israel (TOI) reported today a more measured statement, attributed to Netanyahu’s office:
“Although Israel is not a party to the memorandum of understanding, the prime minister expressed his appreciation for President Trump’s commitment that the final agreement reached at the conclusion of the negotiations will include the removal of enriched material, the dismantling of enrichment infrastructure, limitations on missile production, and the cessation of Iran’s support for its terrorist proxies in the region”—that is, in particular, support for the Hezbollah in Lebanon.
At the same time, TOI qualified that Trump, in recent weeks, has “moved away from demands on ballistic missiles or support for terrorism, both of which Iran has said it would not discuss.”
TOI’s coverage cited a senior U.S. official on the outline of the 60-day period for nuclear talks, agreed to on Wednesday evening—that Trump had accepted “an Iranian demand that the uranium would not leave the country, but would instead be blended down inside Iran under UN supervision,” that Iran would pledge not develop a nuclear weapon, that allowable enrichment levels would be settled during the talks, and that the MOU “goes into details on all the nuclear issues” and “satisfies all US requirements.”
At least one of the elephants in the room is Netanyahu’s so far unchecked ability to blow up any arrangement. Already, today, Defense Minister Israel Katz stated: “Israel must ensure that, in the future as well, we retain the ability to act independently to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have instructed the IDF to prepare accordingly.” However, beyond a Trump agreement with Iran not to develop a nuclear bomb, Katz declared: “We expect him to uphold this principle, as well as additional principles concerning missiles and terrorist proxies... Our security doctrine is sharp and clear. We act against both nearby and distant threats, and we strive for decisive outcomes rather than compromises and concessions.” He made clear that Israel will stay in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, and Syria.
