Israeli Officials Say Emerging US-Iran Deal Is a Strategic Blow

Israeli officials said Friday they were deeply disappointed by the apparent US-Iran memorandum of understanding, calling it a dangerous deal that falls far short of the goals Israel set when the campaign began in late February. One official told ynet, "Trump screwed us," while another said the emerging agreement looked "very bad" and, for Israel, "a catastrophe" because it did not reflect any of the principles discussed at the start of the war.

A third Israeli official said it was not even certain a deal would be signed, but that any agreement would be seen in the region as the result of Iranian pressure and American backing down. He said the core test would be whether uranium was removed and destroyed, warning that if it is only diluted under IAEA supervision the deal would still be considered poor. He added that the ambiguity on both sides was deliberate, allowing Tehran to present the accord as a victory and Trump to claim he forced Iran to yield.

The report said the Israeli readout from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office was also cool, because the deal appears to exclude regime change, and Iranian reports suggest the proxy issue will remain outside the agreement. Israeli officials said that may already be affecting Hezbollah and could complicate any separate understanding with Lebanon, though they still insist Israel has not merged the Lebanon and Iran fronts and that the IDF will keep freedom of action against emerging threats.

According to the reported framework, the United States would release $12 billion to $15 billion in frozen Iranian funds, but only for food and medicine purchases through Qatar, while Iran would also be allowed to sell oil. The ballistic missile issue appears to be left out entirely, and the nuclear file will center on the 60 percent enriched material, which may be diluted rather than removed. Netanyahu said, "As long as I am prime minister of Israel, Iran will not have nuclear weapons," adding that he and Trump are fully aligned, but Israeli officials now argue the war may have strengthened Iran strategically rather than weakened it.