Jerusalem, Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. President Donald Trump that Israel would remain free to act against threats in Lebanon during a phone call about an emerging agreement between Washington and Iran, an Israeli source said.
Call with Trump
The Israeli political source said on Sunday that Netanyahu had stressed in the conversation that Israel would maintain freedom of action against threats in all arenas, including Lebanon, and that Trump had reiterated and supported that principle.
Trump said Washington and Iran had “largely negotiated” a memorandum of understanding on a peace deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a shipping passage that has been effectively closed since the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran in February.
Expectations rose that a breakthrough might be imminent in the three-month-old war after Trump said an emerging agreement being brokered by Pakistan would reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Terms of the draft
Iran’s Fars news agency said the draft stipulates that the United States and its allies will not attack Iran or its allies, and that Iran will in return pledge not to launch preemptive attacks on them.
According to the Israeli source, the United States is updating Israel on the negotiations with Iran.
Israeli response
Prominent Israeli politician Benny Gantz said it would be a strategic mistake for Israel to accept a ceasefire in Lebanon, where its troops have entered to fight the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia, as part of a deal with Iran.
The source said Trump made clear that he would stand firm in negotiations on his demand for the dismantling of the Iranian nuclear program and the removal of all enriched uranium from Iranian territory, and that he would not sign a final agreement without those conditions being met.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that a call with Netanyahu had gone “very well”.