Report: Netanyahu avoided criticizing US-Iran deal in talks with American officials, said it could be ‘home run’

Despite widespread concern about the terms of the US-Iran memorandum of understanding in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not criticize the MOU in recent conversations with American officials, they said, and told them that if Tehran fully complies with the deal’s terms, it would be a “home run,” Channel 12 reports.

According to the news outlet, US officials believe far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who have publicly criticized the deal, are pushing Netanyahu to take a tougher stance against it.

Israeli officials reject that assessment, Channel 12 reports, arguing that opposition to the deal extends across the security establishment, including Defense Minister Israel Katz, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and other senior military officials, who reportedly view the agreement as a strategic disaster for Israel.

“Israel must be prepared to act alone,” a senior member of Netanyahu’s security cabinet tells the network. “It won’t happen tomorrow morning, but our baseline assumption is that Trump has lost interest, regardless of what the Iranians will or won’t do.”

Israel is also reportedly bracing for months of American pressure to limit its military freedom of action not only in Iran and Lebanon, which are referenced in the MOU, but potentially also in Gaza and Yemen, the bases of Iranian proxies Hamas and the Houthis, respectively.