Smotrich and Ben Gvir pan US-Iran deal, say Israel should defy it

By Sam Sokol 15 June 2026, 4:34 pm

2 Edit

Sam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich arrives for a Religious Zionism faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, June 15, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich rail against the pending ceasefire deal between Washington and Tehran, insisting that Israel be allowed to continue fighting on multiple fronts.

“The State of Israel must not accept the ceasefire between the United States and Iran,” Ben Gvir tells reporters ahead of his ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset, insisting that “the security of the citizens of Israel and IDF soldiers stands above all other considerations” and that Israel is “not bound by agreements that put an end to its ability to defend itself.”

“I demand that the prime minister allow IDF soldiers to continue the vital activity of demolishing homes, eliminating Hezbollah terrorists, and distancing residents from their homes. We must not act according to the agreements between Trump and Khamenei,” Ben Gvir declares.

“We cherish and appreciate the deep friendship with the United States and President Trump’s standing by Israel. However, the direct and exclusive responsibility for Israel’s security rests solely on the Government of Israel, [which] must maintain full operational freedom of security at any time and in any place,” he continues.

Smotrich tells reporters ahead of his far-right Religious Zionism party’s faction meeting that “the agreement with Iran is a bad deal for Israel and the entire free world. Iran must never be allowed to have nuclear weapons, and we must not accept a reality where the extremist regime in Tehran continues to advance toward this goal.”

While the joint US-Israel campaign against Iran “yielded very significant achievements” and weakened the regime, “Israel will continue to act using all tools at its disposal to topple the Iranian Ayatollah regime and to prevent this terror regime from becoming a nuclear threshold state,” Smotrich declares.

“I hear quite a bit of criticism and suggestions from the outside, but the truth must be told, the political, security and international pressure being exerted during this period on the Israeli government and the prime minister is unprecedented. Not a single one of the self-proclaimed candidates for prime minister would have withstood even a tenth of this pressure. Believe me. I know them all well.”