Eizenkot Slams Government Over U.S.-Iran Deal, Says Israel Was Kept in the Dark

Former IDF chief and opposition figure Gadi Eizenkot sharply attacked the government after the United States and Iran reached an agreement, arguing that it was negotiated far from Israel and against Israel’s interests. He said that nearly three years after the October 7 failure, and despite heavy costs and notable military achievements, Israel woke up to a deal that was being shaped without it.

Eizenkot said the agreement reflects the result of what began as the “gravest failure” and has now become, in his words, “the bleak outcome of a failed government.” He accused the government of operating without strategy, without diplomatic or leadership courage, and of losing the public’s trust and that of its allies while abandoning Israeli residents. He added that there is “a chasm” between the promises of a “total victory” and what he called “this morning.”

He said the public had expected an agreement that would remove uranium, reduce missile threats, end cross-front fire equations, preserve Israel’s freedom of action, separate the different arenas, and above all provide real security for the north and all of Israel. In his view, the security and regional opportunity the government should have seized was missed, even though “it was possible and necessary to do otherwise.”

Eizenkot also criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for refusing to answer the public honestly, saying Israelis once again learned of the deal from foreign leaders’ reports. He said residents of the north, who have been abandoned for two and a half years, now see that their homes and security remain exposed, and he promised, “We will not leave them alone.”