Israel Alarmed by Emerging U.S.-Iran Deal It Says Ignores Key Security Demands

After President Donald Trump said on Saturday that a deal between Washington and Tehran would be signed on Sunday, senior Israeli officials voiced concern that the emerging agreement does not address the issues Israel sees as most important, namely Iran’s nuclear program, its ballistic missiles, and support for proxy groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. One senior official said the deal with Iran was “jeopardizing security interests.” The security and political cabinet is due to meet Sunday evening.

Israeli military officials believe Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is alive and has approved the deal for the Supreme Council. The draft text reportedly does not directly mention the nuclear issue, but under the arrangement Khamenei is expected to approve removing enriched uranium from Iran or diluting it on Iranian soil. Trump said in his remarks, “The Strait of Hormuz will open immediately after that. Iran does not want nuclear weapons.”

Trump also posted on Truth that “when things calm down, we will come and take the enriched uranium.” He added, “Iran will not have nuclear weapons, not by purchase, development or any other form,” and said, “when everything is quiet, we will go in and collect the hidden nuclear material, dismantle it and destroy it, whether in Iran or in the United States.” He also wrote, “No money will be transferred.”

Officials in Jerusalem acknowledged over the weekend that, despite talks between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump, Israel’s ability to influence the process is very limited. Israel views any deal with Iran as a “bad deal,” and based on the reports about this emerging framework, as a particularly bad one. The key point, they said, is that this is not a final agreement but a memorandum of understanding, and it leaves out Israeli demands including removal of enriched uranium, dismantling Iran’s enrichment industry, and limits on ballistic missile production.

According to the reported terms, the deal would extend the ceasefire by 60 days, lift sanctions on Iran, unfreeze assets, and immediately open the Strait of Hormuz after signing. A second, more complicated signature is expected after an electronic signing tomorrow. CNN reported on Saturday that Iran had fully blocked and even mined the sites where the uranium is located, and that Trump halted, at the last minute, a U.S. military commando operation intended to seize the enriched uranium stockpile and remove it from Iranian territory. Trump ended by saying he hoped the process would be easy and smooth, while warning that the United States still has an “ultimate alternative” that he hopes will never need to be used again.