US and Israeli officials have said that recently-begun talks on a new 10-year US-Israel security cooperation framework seek to \u201cgradually transition\u201d the relationship \u201cfrom aid to a completely reciprocal partnership.\u201d<\/p>\n
The prime minister has vowed for months to end US military aid to Israel over the next decade, but Tuesday\u2019s remarks came at a particularly tense moment, amid increasing concern in Jerusalem over the US placing limitations on its freedom of action.<\/p>\n
\t After launching a war against Iran together with the US in February, Israel has been frozen out of a subsequent negotiating process between Washington and Tehran.<\/p>\n Israel had no part in negotiating the memorandum of understanding reached between the US and Iran last week. Nevertheless, the terms of the opening clause<\/a> \u2014 permanently ending the war and ruling out any resumption \u2014 indicate that it is binding on the US, Iran and \u201ctheir allies.\u201d<\/p>\n The MOU refers to \u201call fronts, including Lebanon,\u201d and Tehran has demanded that Israel withdraw its forces from that country, where troops are battling the Hezbollah terror group, which attacked Israel on March 2 in support of Iran.<\/p>\n Israel, which is engaging in separate US-brokered talks with the Lebanese government, has refused to withdraw<\/a> from the country until the threat of Hezbollah is removed.<\/p>\n However, when US President Donald Trump was asked last week whether he\u2019d be able to \u201ccontrol Israel from attacking Lebanon\u201d if he wanted to, the US leader said he would, adding: \u201cThey have a lot of respect for me, and they do as I say.\u201d<\/p>\n \t Some Israeli officials, however, have openly spoken out against the MOU, which went into effect without any of the war\u2019s key goals having been achieved \u2014 notably, eliminating Iran\u2019s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and creating the conditions for the fall of the regime. Netanyahu has claimed that the latter goal has been achieved, though there are no signs that the Islamic Republic\u2019s rule is in jeopardy.<\/p>\n Washington has said it is committed to preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and that fighting could resume<\/a> if, at the end of the current negotiation period, the Islamic Republic has not made a commitment sufficient to avert the possibility.<\/p>\n US Vice President JD Vance last week, defending the deal, noted that \u201ctwo-thirds of the defensive weapons that have protected [Israel]\u201d in recent wars were US-made and funded by American tax dollars.<\/p>\n Responding to far-right ministers who called on Israel to disregard the MOU, Vance said: \u201cIf I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking<\/a> the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t The war with Iran has been draining for all of us in Israel. But when I heard about a high casualty incident \u2013 ballistic missile impacts in Arad and Dimona that left nearly 200 people wounded \u2013 I drank a cup of coffee, packed a bag, and headed south.<\/p>\n There, I spoke with Shilgit, the head of an after-school program for underprivileged youth. Standing outside her destroyed center, Shilgit said it was a miracle that no children were hurt and spoke about the community coming together in the hours since.<\/p>\n As a Times of Israel reporter, I\u2019m committed to telling stories of resilience like Shilgit\u2019s. But my colleagues and I can’t do this alone. If you value work like this, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to keep real human reporting like this going.<\/p>\n \u2014 Stav Levaton, military reporter<\/p>\n \t\t\t
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\n\t\tAn Israeli soldier is seen in an underground Hezbollah drone facility in Majdal Zoun, southern Lebanon, on June 18, 2026. (Emanuel Fabian\/Times of Israel)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AFP__20260622__B7W74KE__v1__HighRes__PakistanWarIranUsIsraelDiplomacy-1-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tPolice personnel ride past the national flags of Pakistan and Iran fluttering outside the President House in Islamabad on June 22, 2026, on the eve of Iran\u2019s President Masoud Pezeshkian\u2019s visit to Pakistan amid the US-Iran peace talks. (Aamir QURESHI \/ AFP)<\/p>\n
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