From the Liveblog of
Monday, July 6, 2026
Envoy to US says Israel views deal with Lebanon as superseding American MOU with Iran
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleJacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter says that Jerusalem views the framework deal it inked last month with Lebanon as superseding the memorandum of understanding that Washington signed with Iran.
“Both Israel and Lebanon clearly see our trilateral agreement superseding the first clause of the MOU. Whether or not the United States does, you’ll have to ask an administration spokesman,” Leiter says during an onstage interview hosted by the Council of Foreign Relations in Washington.
While the US brokered the talks between Jerusalem and Beirut that led to the framework deal in which the sides agree to prevent Iran from influencing developments in Lebanon, the MOU that US President Donald Trump went on to sign with Iran appeared to undermine the Israel-Lebanon channel by specifically extending the US-Iran ceasefire to include Lebanon and call for an end to military operations in the country.
Leiter recognizes that Iran, along with Pakistani and Qatari mediators, believes that the MOU should override the Israel-Lebanon framework deal. However, he argues that the MOU is merely a document aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz after Iran closed the channel in response to US and Israeli strikes. Leiter says the MOU “is not a closure of the operation against Iran and its nuclear pursuits.”
Leiter argues against the MOU’s envisioned sanctions relief to Iran, insisting that Tehran will use that money “for nefarious purposes.”
At the same time, the Israeli envoy recognizes the limits of Israel’s ability to influence US decision-making. “All we can do is weigh in… We can’t be part of that decision-making process. That’s too big for us. We know our size.”
Israeli Ambassador to the U.S: Yechiel Leiter
“Lebanon is gonna have to get ahold of itself.. make the choice— that it comes down to the side of accommodationism— those who have threatened the notion of Israel’s existence and that Lebanon can be used as a conduit to fulfill… pic.twitter.com/zVN33tSJI8
— MJTruthUltra (@MJTruthUltra) July 6, 2026
He says there are some members of the Israeli government who are panicking over the MOU and its meaning for Iran and the region, but says he is “much more sanguine,” and is urging a wait-and-see approach regarding ongoing talks on a final deal that would more holistically address Iran’s nuclear program, missile program and support for proxies.
“Whether that’s in 60 days or 90 days or after the midterms… I’m quite sure that the administration didn’t go to war to go back into a situation where Iran has a pathway to once again try and produce nuclear weapons” by creating a shield via the mass production of ballistic missiles, he says.
While Trump made the destruction of Iran’s missile program an initial war aim, he shifted after signing the MOU last month to arguing that Tehran should be allowed to have some missiles as a means of self-defense against neighbors that also have them.
For his part, Leiter says, “I can’t imagine that any ultimate agreement with Iran would be absent a clause limiting the development of ballistic missiles.” He notes that Trump has also said any deal with Iran would have to address its support for proxies, though that issue, too, went unmentioned in the MOU.
The Times of Israel Community.