Israel will maintain freedom of action against all threats, including Lebanon, an Israeli political source said on Sunday with regard to an emerging memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran.
Washington is updating Jerusalem on the negotiations, and U.S. President Donald Trump spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to the source. The premier in that discussion “stressed that Israel will maintain freedom of action against threats in all arenas, including Lebanon, and President Trump reiterated his support for this principle,” the source added.
Trump “made clear that he will stand firm in the negotiations on his consistent demand for the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program and the removal of all enriched uranium from its territory, and that he will not sign a final agreement without these conditions being met,” according to the source.
“The prime minister again expressed his appreciation to President Trump for his longstanding and exceptional commitment to Israel’s security,” the source added.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday during a visit to India that an agreement could be hours away. “I do think perhaps there is the possibility that in the next few hours the world will get some good news,” he said.
The agreement that the United States and Iran are reportedly close to signing would include the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the lifting of the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports, and an Iranian commitment to negotiate over its nuclear enrichment program, news site Axios reported, citing an unnamed official.
Under the proposed agreement, the sides would sign a 60-day memorandum of understanding, renewable by mutual consent, according to the report.
During the ceasefire period, the Strait of Hormuz would reopen without tolls and Iran would remove mines it deployed in the waterway.
In return, the United States would lift its naval blockade and grant sanctions waivers allowing Tehran to sell oil.
Iran also commits to permanently forgo nuclear weapons and to begin negotiations on suspending uranium enrichment and eliminating its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, according to the anonymous official cited by Axios.
“We’ve been in this situation several times before, and I do not see how the agreement currently on the table could be signed, despite all the noise surrounding it,” Likud lawmaker Tally Gotliv told JNS on Sunday.
“This would be a bad agreement—one that does not serve the interests of the United States, not just ours. I do not see it being signed,” she added.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Sunday that Tehran has not agreed to hand over its highly enriched uranium stockpile and that the nuclear issue was not part of the preliminary agreement with Washington.
“The nuclear issue will be addressed in negotiations for a final agreement and are therefore not part of the current deal. There has been no agreement over Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile to be shipped out of the country,” the news agency quoted the source as saying.
The draft memorandum of understanding states that the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon would end, according to the Axios report. Axios also reported that during the call with Trump on Saturday, Netanyahu raised concerns about that provision and other aspects of the deal, though he did so in a respectful manner, according to U.S. and Israeli officials. A U.S. official said the arrangement would not be a one-sided ceasefire and would allow Israel to act if Hezbollah attempted to rearm or launch attacks.
Fox News reported on Sunday that the emerging agreement specifies that U.S. military forces will remain near Iran for 30 days.
“It’s not over until it’s over. You can’t know what will happen. I trust President Trump, who said he will not compromise on the nuclear issue, and I hope he won’t,” Likud lawmaker Moshe Passal told JNS on Sunday.
“But as I’ve said many times, a nation of which six million people were destroyed not so long ago must face its fate alone.
“Even if the U.S. reaches an agreement that is not good for Israel, we cannot allow Iran to possess nuclear weapons,” he continued. “Therefore, we need to be in a situation where, with or without President Trump, we know how to destroy Iran’s capabilities.
“I trust that Israel and the Jewish people will endure forever. How will this happen? What will happen? In what form? I don’t know, but I hope they do not sign this deal because it is like signing a deal with Hitler,” Passal added.
“These are the greatest terrorists in the world. The costs will be painful, but we should not surrender to Iran,” he said.
