Netanyahu's Israel grapples with Trump-Iran deal as details remain unclear

TEL AVIV, Israel: Reactions successful Israel to the Memorandum of Understanding reached by President Donald Trump and Iran connected Sunday person been a premix of wait-and-see-the details and outright criticism.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council confirmed connected Sunday that Tehran and Washington had finalized a memorandum of knowing ending the warfare aft months of negotiations. In a statement, the assembly said each subject operations crossed aggregate fronts, including successful Lebanon, would cease "immediately and permanently."

Talks connected a broad last statement volition reportedly statesman lone aft some sides person implemented their obligations nether the model and are expected to proceed for up to 60 days.

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President Donald Trump listens to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arsenic helium addresses the Knesset successful Jerusalem connected Oct. 13, 2025. (Saul Loeb/AFP)

While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to comment, connected Monday, Defense Minister Israel Katz, held backmost from straight criticizing the woody but said that the IDF would not retreat from confederate Lebanon, informing that if Iran attacks Israel successful effect to the warring against Hezbollah, "we volition onslaught it with afloat force."

He said, "The IDF volition stay successful the information zones successful Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza, without immoderate clip limit, to support the borderline and Israeli communities against jihadist elements."

Katz described the information zones arsenic "among the IDF’s top achievements" successful the multi-front warfare since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 massacre, adding that Israel truthful opposes an IDF withdrawal from Lebanon contempt each the pressures that volition inactive come.

Katz said helium and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had conveyed these positions to U.S. President Donald Trump and different elder American officials, including U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

"We volition not compromise connected Israel’s information interests and the extortion of our citizens," helium concluded.

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President Donald Trump monitors U.S. subject operations successful Iran pursuing an Israeli onslaught successful Tehran connected Feb. 28, 2026. (@WhiteHouse/X)

Yossi Kuperwasser, caput of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security and erstwhile main of the probe part successful the Israel Defense Forces’ Military Intelligence Directorate, told Fox News Digital that the details of the statement stay sketchy.

"There was a statement wrong the Iranian enactment implicit whether to judge the deal," helium said. "It appears that the accusation we are proceeding is coming from those who opposed it. Maybe they are right, possibly they are wrong, but it raises large concerns successful Israel. If this is the deal, it is simply a disaster. If 1 listens to President Trump, the woody is astir apt thing different."

Kuperwasser defined a "good deal" arsenic 1 successful which Iran gives up each components of its atomic program, grants entree to enriched uranium and establishes a robust monitoring strategy susceptible of reaching anyplace astatine immoderate time, including subject facilities apt being utilized for atomic purposes. He added that specified an statement should besides prohibit accumulation of missiles susceptible of carrying atomic warheads.

A fireball rises from the tract of an Israeli airstrike targeting an country successful Beirut's confederate suburbs overnight connected March 10 to 11, 2026. (Fadel itani / AFP via Getty Images)

"Lebanon’s destiny is simply a substance to beryllium discussed betwixt Washington, Jerusalem, and Beirut," Kuperwasser said. "Iran is not a enactment to those talks and should not beryllium according to the Lebanese government. If Lebanon is to beryllium portion of a woody with Iran, it means Tehran has a accidental successful Lebanese matters."

Kuperwasser noted that Israel has lived nether the shadiness of Iran’s atomic programme since 1998, portion noting that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is uniquely positioned to measure the contented fixed his decades of involvement. He said it remains unclear whether Netanyahu is satisfied with the result oregon what his last appraisal volition be.

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Former Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, present person of the opposition, referred Fox News Digital to his comments connected X.

"The emerging statement achieves nary of Israel’s warfare goals. The authorities survives, the rocket programme exists, and Iran tin rebuild its atomic program. This is simply a implicit nonaccomplishment by Netanyahu, and successful the process, helium is turning america into a lawsuit authorities that takes orders astir its nationalist security," helium wrote.

A motorist rides past a banner featuring images of Iran's slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his lad Mojtaba Khamenei on a thoroughfare successful Tehran connected April 15, 2026. (AFP/Getty Images)

On March 19, Prime Minister Netanyahu outlined 3 warfare objectives for the U.S.-Israel associated cognition against Iran: "One, removing the atomic threat. Second, removing the ballistic rocket menace and removing some of these threats earlier they're buried heavy underground and go immune from aerial attack. And third, this means creating the conditions for the Iranian radical to grasp their freedom, to power their destiny," the premier stated astatine the time.

Dr Meir Javedanfar, Iran lecturer astatine Reichman University, told Fox News Digital that Israel’s astir contiguous interest regarding the woody is the clause dealing with Lebanon.

"There is genuine interest that this could necktie Israel’s hands," helium said. "An further interest is that Hezbollah could usage this clause to regroup and fortify its equipped forces and positions on the borderline with Israel."

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Javedanfar said it is excessively aboriginal to measure whether the woody would permission Israel successful a importantly stronger presumption than the 2015 Obama-era atomic agreement, citing the destiny of Iran’s stockpile of 60% enriched uranium and its atomic infrastructure.

"Will Iran beryllium allowed to proceed enriching uranium connected its soil? If yes, astatine what percentage? And however volition the planetary assemblage oversee Iran’s atomic program? What benignant of inspection programme volition they have? How intrusive volition they be?" helium added.

The Israel Defense Forces said its troops located and destroyed a Hezbollah underground bid halfway with infrastructure astir 8 meters beneath crushed successful South Lebanon. (IDF Spokesman's Unit)

Israel’s arguable National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir connected Monday insisted that the MOU does not hindrance the Jewish state. "Israel is not taxable to the United States, and we are an autarkic and sovereign nation," helium tweeted, adding that Jerusalem’s work is to its citizens, its soldiers and the Jewish people."

He stated, "My presumption is clear: we are not partners to this statement that does not guarantee our security, and it does not hindrance america successful immoderate way," helium said, adding that portion Israelis "love" the United States and "are grateful" to Trump, "the State of Israel is not a banana republic."

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On Friday, Netanyahu's bureau stated that "Even though Israel is not a enactment to the memorandum of understanding, the Prime Minister expressed his appreciation for President Trump's committedness that the last statement astatine the decision of negotiations volition see the removal of enriched material, the dismantling of enrichment infrastructure, limits connected rocket production, and the cessation of Iran's enactment for its violent proxies successful the region." 

President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu astatine Mar-a-Lago connected Dec. 29, 2025, to sermon Iran tensions and the Gaza bid plan. (Israel Government Press Office)

Quoting the premier minister, the connection added that "As agelong arsenic I americium the Prime Minister of Israel – Iran volition not person atomic weapons. President Trump and I are successful afloat statement connected this issue. For implicit 30 years, I person been astatine the forefront of the planetary conflict against Iran's atomic program. Were it not for this struggle, Iran would person agelong agone possessed atomic bombs to destruct Israel. Iran is moving to destruct the Jewish state, and I americium dedicating my beingness to preventing them from doing so. As agelong arsenic I americium the Prime Minister of Israel, this volition not happen."

Netanyahu's bureau did not instantly respond to a Fox News Digital petition for comment.