Ben Gvir Says US-Iran Deal Does Not Bind Israel, Golan Calls It a Strategic Defeat

After a deal was signed overnight between the United States and Iran, Israeli politicians reacted sharply, calling it a defeat for Israel. The agreement came after several tense hours in which Iran threatened to attack Israeli cities, a crisis that was defused through US-Qatari mediation and heavy pressure, according to the report.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir issued the government’s first response, saying the Trump agreement “does not bind us” and that Israel is “an independent, sovereign state.” He added that Israel had paid a heavy blood price whenever it yielded to international pressure, citing Oslo, the 2006 Lebanon agreement, and years of containment in Gaza. Ben Gvir said Israel is grateful to President Trump, but “Israel is not a banana republic.”

Ben Gvir also said Israel is not part of an accord that does not protect its security. He said Israel must not compromise before Hezbollah is dismantled, must not withdraw from territory captured from terror infrastructure, must not allow thousands of militants near northern communities, and must not tolerate fire at Israel. He warned that any drone, UAV, or missile launched from Lebanon would bring an Israeli strike on Beirut’s Dahiya district, which he said was the deterrent balance “only a few months ago.”

Yair Golan, leader of the Democrats, also condemned the deal. He said Israelis woke up to an agreement made “over the head of the state,” claiming that a single signature erased major military achievements earned by pilots and soldiers while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood aside, “weak, ill, isolated and without influence.” Golan said the deal sends billions to the ayatollah regime, leaves Iran’s nuclear infrastructure intact, preserves the ballistic threat, and gives Tehran a lifeline. He accused Netanyahu of years of strategic failure, including promoting the idea that Hamas was an asset, allowing Qatari money to flow, abandoning diplomacy, and leaving Israel isolated. Golan concluded that replacing Netanyahu is not only a political need, but an existential security necessity.