Trump Says Netanyahu Nearly Blown Up Emerging Iran Deal

President Donald Trump sharply criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone interview with The New York Times, saying Israel’s actions during the war nearly collapsed the understandings reached with Iran. Trump called Netanyahu “a very difficult person” and said he should be grateful to the United States, adding, “If Iran had nuclear weapons, Israel would not last even two hours.” He also praised Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin for helping advance the understandings.

According to the Times, Trump presented several elements as already part of the deal even though some have not been finalized or were pushed to later negotiations. He said the agreement would keep the Strait of Hormuz “free of tolls permanently,” but the memorandum of understanding reportedly only suspends tolls for 60 days, after which regional talks are supposed to address the strait’s future. The report also noted that Iran had not charged tolls there before the war, so the arrangement would effectively restore the prior situation.

Trump again compared the memorandum to the 2015 nuclear deal signed under President Barack Obama and said the new agreement would ensure Iran “cannot develop or acquire nuclear weapons.” The Times noted that Iran had already accepted that obligation under the 1970 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and repeated it in the Obama-era deal.

The biggest unresolved issue is uranium enrichment. The report says that during three months of talks led by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, Iran insisted it would not give up its right to enrich uranium under the nonproliferation treaty. Trump said the sides are still discussing a possible 20-year suspension, but he hinted he might accept 15 years, while insisting Iran would be permanently limited to low-level enrichment that, in his words, “could never be used by the military.”