Despite Israel’s measured public response to the U.S.-Iran agreement set to be signed this week, a senior political official told Channel 14 that “this is a shocking deal.”
“The deal Trump led with Iran is terrible from almost every possible angle,” the official said. “It completely buries the possibility of toppling the regime because of the enormous sums that will flow to it once the deal is implemented, thereby abandoning the Iranian people who hoped the U.S. and Israel would lead to replacing the ayatollahs’ regime.” He added that “the deal doesn’t guarantee Iran won’t be able to arm itself with advanced missiles and continue funding terror organizations threatening Israel.” He also said that “on the nuclear issue too, the deal is partial and insufficient, and just as Iran was willing to wait until 2030 in the previous deal with Obama, it will be willing to wait now for the change of power in the U.S. in two more years and then start the race for nuclear weapons, which it hasn’t abandoned and won’t abandon as long as it rules Iran.”
According to the official, “The achievement Trump is boasting about—that the Strait of Hormuz will open—is highly questionable. After all, the straits were open until the launch of Operation Roaring Lion. He also said the deal puts Israel in a complex reality in Lebanon, since “in order to preserve the deal, Trump will demand Israel not strike in Beirut, which will limit its freedom of action in its war against the terror organization Hezbollah.”
At the same time, the official noted that “despite the deal being bad, the entire campaign from its beginning includes significant achievements despite the deal, and mainly thanks to the military action that preceded it, which set Iran’s nuclear program back many years and destroyed its missile stockpile and their production facilities, as well as the knowledge to develop nuclear weapons—something that will take them a very long time to restore even without the deal.”
The political system also reacted to the developments. Otzma Yehudit chairman Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said that “Trump’s deal doesn’t bind us. Israel is obligated to defend its citizens and soldiers. Israel is not subordinate to the United States and we are an independent and sovereign state. My position is clear: we are not partners to this deal that doesn’t care for our security, and it doesn’t bind us in any way. We must not compromise on anything less than dismantling Hezbollah, we must not retreat from any territory our fighters conquered and cleansed of terror infrastructure, we must not return to a situation where thousands of terrorists sit on the fences of northern communities, and we certainly must not remain silent for a moment in the face of fire toward the State of Israel.”
Minister Miki Zohar (Likud) was slightly more optimistic and said that “Trump and Netanyahu are preparing a few more surprises for us, even before the elections. Anyone trying to eulogize the relationship between Netanyahu and Trump will still eat their hat.”
Finance Committee chairman MK Hanoch Milwidsky (Likud) said that “Israel doesn’t take instructions from external actors, important and friendly as they may be, regarding the security of its citizens. We haven’t needed ‘recognition’ of our right to defend ourselves for a long time.”
Religious Zionism chairman MK Ohad Tal said that “Prime Minister, the eyes of the people of Israel are upon you. We strengthen you to continue safeguarding Israel’s security on all fronts, on land, in the air, and at sea. We’re not retreating, not folding, continuing to strike every threat, everywhere.”
MK Moshe Solomon (Religious Zionism) said that “We promised ourselves and the public that we won’t return to the conception of October 6th, and that’s our test point. Like many, I’m studying the deal and its implications for the State of Israel and especially for the residents of the north. I’m confident that the prime minister and cabinet members will preserve the interests of the State of Israel and the security of the northern residents.”
Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot said that “what began with the most severe failure, with historic internal and international legitimacy, is ripening into the dismal result of a failed government. A government that operated without strategy and political or leadership courage, and lost over three years the trust of the public and its allies while abandoning Israel’s residents. A chasm yawns between the empty promises of ‘absolute victory’ and this morning; the northern residents who were abandoned for two and a half years discover this morning that their homes and security remain exposed to threat and that their cry again wasn’t heard in Jerusalem. We won’t leave them alone.”
Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz said that “under no circumstances—must we agree to limiting Israel’s freedom of action in Lebanon or to a withdrawal that will endanger the northern residents. The emerging deal with Iran looks like a strategic failure that will require Israel to embark on a political, military, and legal struggle in the coming years that only a broad Zionist government can lead.”
The Democrats chairman Yair Golan said, “A difficult morning for Israel. This morning Israeli citizens wake up to a deal between the United States and Iran made over Israel’s head. With one signature stroke, tremendous military achievements accomplished through the courage of our pilots and the blood of our fighters were erased, while Netanyahu stood on the sidelines—weak, sick, isolated, and without influence. Trump is signing a deal that pours billions into the ayatollahs’ regime, leaves nuclear infrastructure intact, keeps the ballistic threat in place, and gives a lifeline to the murderous regime in Tehran.”