Israeli ministers and coalition lawmakers sharply criticized the new U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding that entered into force overnight, arguing it jeopardizes Israel’s security interests, especially in Lebanon and against Iran’s nuclear program. The agreement was signed digitally by U.S. President Donald Trump at Versailles in France and by Iranian President Pezeshkian in Tehran, with Trump saying it "achieves everything we wanted, everything we aspired to and more," and adding that enriched uranium matters less because it is very hard to extract.
Minister of Aliyah and Integration Ofir Sofer told Kan Reshet Bet on Thursday morning that "there is no one in Israel who woke up happy with the agreement." He said the alliance with the United States remains "strong" and based on shared values, but Israel must sometimes say no even to its closest friend. Sofer said he does not see Israel withdrawing from the security zone in southern Lebanon, arguing that the U.S.-Iran deal undermines efforts to reach a diplomatic arrangement with the Lebanese government and collapses them.
Sofer said the lessons of October 7 showed that a contact line can always be breached, so a military presence in a security area free of weapons and terror infrastructure is essential to protect northern communities. "The peace and the new Middle East they once told us about, it is still not here," he said, adding that Israel must continue shaping the security reality through force. On Iran’s nuclear threat, he said Israel’s strikes on Iranian nuclear infrastructure were "dramatic and significant," hitting both core targets and peripheral systems.
Earlier, Likud MK Avichay Buaron also opposed the deal "in every respect." He said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had already made Israel’s firm position clear to Trump more than once, calling the American move a strategic mistake. Buaron said "the American interest outweighed our national interest and the international interest," and objected especially to the commitment to pull U.S. allies out of Lebanon, saying Israel will not agree to retreat and restore the previous situation. Despite his criticism, he still called Trump a friend of Israel, but said he is wrong on this issue.
