Israeli coalition lawmakers and a cabinet minister voiced strong reservations on Thursday about the new U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding, which took effect overnight. Minister of Aliyah and Integration Ofir Sofer said in an interview on Kan News that “there is no one in Israel who woke up in the morning pleased with the agreement,” though he stressed that Israel’s alliance with the United States remains “solid” and based on shared values. He argued that Israel must sometimes say no even to its closest friend, and warned that the deal undermines efforts to reach a diplomatic solution with Lebanon.
Sofer said he does not see Israel withdrawing from the security zone in southern Lebanon, arguing that lessons from October 7 showed the front line can always be breached. In his view, Israel needs a military presence in a buffer area free of weapons and terror infrastructure to protect northern communities. He added that “the peace and the new Middle East we were once told about are still not here,” and said Israel must continue shaping security reality by force. On Iran's nuclear threat, he said Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear infrastructure had been “dramatic and significant,” hitting both key centers and surrounding assets.
Earlier, Likud MK Avichay Buaron also rejected the memorandum outright, saying Israel opposes it “from every angle.” He said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already made Israel’s position clear to President Donald Trump more than once, and described the agreement as a strategic mistake by Washington. Buaron said “the American interest prevailed over our national interest and the international interest,” and argued that the price the U.S. is giving Iran at the start of the deal is “high and absurd.”
Buaron highlighted the clause involving the withdrawal of U.S. allies from Lebanon, saying Israel will not accept a return to the previous situation. He said Netanyahu told Trump, “we do not intend to withdraw from Lebanon and restore the situation to what it was.” Despite his criticism, Buaron said he still views Trump as a friend of Israel, but believes he is mistaken on this issue. He said Israel will defend its security interests, even with close allies, to prevent Iran's regional axis from growing stronger. The memorandum was signed digitally overnight, with Trump signing at Versailles in France and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signing in Tehran. Trump said the deal achieves “everything we wanted, everything we aspired to, and even more,” adding that enriched uranium matters less because it is very difficult to extract.
