Israeli officials warned that the emerging agreement between Iran and the United States is “a bad deal,” saying it fails to address key threats posed by Tehran beyond its nuclear program.
“The framework agreement is not good, and even if a final agreement is signed and all enriched uranium is removed from Iran, which is a big ‘if’, the deal does not address the issue of Iran’s missile program or its network of regional proxies,” one official said.
Officials in Jerusalem are also concerned that the agreement could curb Israel’s freedom of action in Lebanon and potentially restrict its ability to act against Iranian threats across the region.
“Nothing is final yet, but this is an agreement that could affect whether and how we are able to operate,” an Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a small group of ministers and senior security officials on Sunday evening to discuss the emerging deal.
Israel’s assessment is that US President Donald Trump currently wants to reach an agreement with Iran, and that the only figure who could ultimately block it is Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
“In the end, the decision will come down to him. It is possible that, just as his father rejected a new nuclear agreement at the last minute in 2022, he could take the same course of action,” an Israeli official said.
However, a senior US official told reporters that America assumes that Khamenei has at least “in principle, given his approval to the agreement.”