Senior Israelis Warn Emerging U.S.-Iran Deal Could Severely Harm Security

Senior Israeli officials outside the Prime Minister’s Office issued a sharp warning on Saturday night against the framework deal taking shape between the United States and Iran. In a report by Yaron Abraham on Channel 12 News, the officials said the agreement would endanger Israel’s deepest security interests. They argued that “the Americans received the main terms” Iran wanted, and warned that the deal would produce immediate negative effects, including reopening the Strait of Hormuz, bolstering the Iranian regime, and embarrassing the Iranian public, while any action on nuclear issues would be deferred to a later phase of “payment on credit.”

The officials compared the proposed arrangement to the Gaza ceasefire framework. “This is the same framework as the deal to end the war in Gaza,” they said, asking what had happened since the promise to disarm Hamas. Their central concern is what leverage Washington would retain if, after 60 days of ceasefire, Iran did not begin the required steps. “The credible military threat has been worn down to nothing,” they warned.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the framework agreement with Iran would be signed the next day, as a memorandum of understanding that would open a 60-day future negotiation period over Iran’s nuclear program. At the same time, the Strait of Hormuz would reopen and the American blockade on Iranian ports would be lifted. The article also noted that the signing was expected in Islamabad on Sunday, in a remote online format, after Pakistan’s foreign ministry briefed Al Jazeera.

The Israeli criticism focused on the gap between Israel’s goals and the deal’s contents. Officials said the removal of uranium had been reduced to uranium dilution, while Iran’s missile program was not included at all. “None of Israel’s goals are answered immediately in the agreement,” they said. They also warned that the deal would strengthen Iran and its proxy networks, because Tehran would not be required to stop supporting proxies and would, in effect, reconnect with Hezbollah. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei said the agreement would include Iran charging a “fee” for services allegedly provided in the Strait of Hormuz.