US-Iran deal comes under fire from Israeli ministers, opposition

JERUSALEM: Israeli figures across the political spectrum on Monday slammed the deal between the US and Iran to end the Middle East war, including in Lebanon, saying it would not protect their country’s security.

Two far-right ministers insisted Israel was not bound by the deal, while a leading opposition contender in upcoming elections said it marked a “dangerous turn” for the country’s security.

“Trump’s agreement does not bind us… we are not party to this agreement. It does not safeguard our security,” National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said on his Telegram channel, in the first reaction from an Israeli official to the deal.

“We must not settle for anything less than the dismantling of Hezbollah.

“We must not withdraw from a single inch of territory that our soldiers have captured and cleared of terrorist infrastructure,” he said.

Finance minister Bezalel Smotrich also echoed the sentiment, calling the deal “bad for Israel”.

“The joint (US-Israeli) campaign achieved many successes in weakening Iran, and those achievements have not been in vain,” Smotrich said.

“We will have to continue the campaign to bring down the regime ourselves, using creative means, and ensure that Iran never acquires nuclear weapons,” he said.

Smotrich also called for a stronger campaign in Lebanon.

“We will be judged in Lebanon. This is our war, our soldiers, and the immediate security of our northern residents,” he said.

“I will continue working to ensure that we stand firm on our position and allow the IDF complete freedom of action to continue pushing Hezbollah farther away,” he said.

Opposition figures also condemned the agreement, criticising Netanyahu’s handling of the war and its aftermath.

The deal marked a “dangerous turn for Israel’s security”, said Naftali Bennett, a former prime minister and a leading contender in Israel’s upcoming election.

“In the past 1,000 days, we have discovered time and again the greatness of our nation and the weakness of the government,” he said in a statement.

“We have a clear strategic plan to collapse the Iranian regime,” said Bennett.

“With one hand, we will not allow Iran to break out to a nuclear weapon, and with the other hand, we will bring about the disintegration of the regime through combined diplomatic, intelligence, economic, technological, and military means.”

Yair Golan, head of the left-wing Democrats Party, argued that the deal effectively wiped out Israel’s military gains.

“With the stroke of a pen, enormous military achievements – achieved through the courage of our pilots and the sacrifice of our soldiers – have been erased, while Netanyahu stood on the sidelines: weak, ill, isolated, and without influence,” Golan said in a statement.

“Trump is signing an agreement that pours billions into the ayatollahs’ regime, leaves the nuclear infrastructure intact, leaves the ballistic threat unresolved, and provides a lifeline to the murderous regime in Tehran,” he added.