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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is convening coalition party leaders and Israeli security chiefs for a discussion on the deal taking shape between the United States and Iran to end the war, Channel 12 news reported on May 23.
The report, which describes the deal in the making as “very bad” for Israel, quotes an Israeli official asserting that envoy Steve Witkoff is pushing hardest for President Donald Trump to accept the deal. Israel sees Witkoff as the main player “who wants a deal at almost any price, and is placing immense pressure on Trump not to resume the war.”
However, if the alleged terms of the deal are accurate, they are regarded in Israel as “so bad” that it is hard to see Trump agreeing to them, according to the report.
It added that the deal would be “a very big problem for Israel” and would “greatly contradict things that Netanyahu has said publicly, and, more than this, things that Trump said publicly just a few hours ago.
The terms, per Channel 12, provide for Iran’s reopening of the Strait of Hormuz in return for financial benefits, while the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program and the extraction of its stockpile of enriched uranium would only be discussed later on. Iran’s ballistic missile program is not even on the table, it noted.
“The U.S. is paying cash, while Iran will be paying by credit, if at all,” the report summarized.
Nonetheless, the report continues, there is “close coordination” between Netanyahu and Trump, with “no daylight” between them.
Earlier in the day, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said that the Memorandum of Understanding under discussion would deal with the gradual reopening of Hormuz, lifting the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports and releasing frozen Iranian funds. He added that the deal’s terms provide for a subsequent 30-60 day period of negotiations on a detailed agreement.
Trump later told Axios that “some people would much rather have a deal and others would rather resume the war,” and that Netanyahu was “torn,” but rejected the idea that Netanyahu was “worried” that he might agree to a bad deal.
The report cited Israeli officials saying that Netanyahu is, in fact, highly concerned about the potential deal and has urged Trump to launch a fresh round of strikes.
A follow up report by the news website said that the Trump administration and Iran are reportedly close to a deal to end the war, with remaining gaps focused on the wording of several points.
All in all, Israel is clearly not satisfied with the recent progress in talks between the U.S. and Iran, and could act to prevent a deal. There is also a high possibility that the Trump administration is once again attempting to deceive the Islamic Republic while preparing to resume war. The Israeli military is reportedly on high alert, and the American military buildup in the Middle East has not stopped yet.
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