Israeli Officials Warn Emerging Iran Deal Could Undermine Security Interests

Senior Israeli officials and experts warned on Saturday that the developing agreement between the United States and Iran threatens Israel’s deepest security interests. Speaking to Channel 12 News, they said the framework appears to reflect key Iranian demands, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office is trying not to offend President Donald Trump.

The officials argued that the most important Israeli goal, removing enriched uranium from Iran, has been replaced by dilution of uranium only. They also said the deal does not address Iran’s missile program or its support for proxy groups, and warned that the military threat against Tehran has been badly weakened. One official said, "The Iranians are not agreeing to this framework for nothing. The American side accepted their main terms."

They said the agreement would quickly reopen the Strait of Hormuz and revive the Iranian regime, which they described as a "slap in the face" to the Iranian public. Any action on Iran’s nuclear capabilities, they said, would come only later, under what they called a policy of "paying on credit." They compared the emerging framework to the end of the war in Gaza and questioned what had happened to the promise to disarm Hamas.

The officials also asked what leverage Washington would have if Iran failed to take the required steps after 60 days of a ceasefire. "The credible military threat has been eroded to the bone," they said. They added that the deal leaves Iran’s regional support network intact and could even reconnect it to Hezbollah. On Friday night, Channel 12 reported that Israeli officials feared Trump might settle for diluting Iran’s enriched uranium rather than removing it from the country, and a Netanyahu aide said, "The big fear is that Trump will do to us what Obama did."