Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the emerging US-Iran memorandum of understanding is 'a major blow to Iran' and that Israel will allow the Lebanese army to organize and take control of territory, according to a statement reported Friday evening. The remarks build on prior PMO comments from June 12 in which Netanyahu expressed appreciation for U.S. commitments on enrichment, missiles, and proxy terror.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a brief statement Friday evening on the emerging US-Iran memorandum of understanding, calling it 'a major blow to Iran' and saying Israel will allow the Lebanese army to organize and assume control of territory. The statement — reported by The Zioneer — follows a series of Israeli and international reactions to the framework agreement that was reportedly signed overnight on June 18.
Netanyahu's remarks align with his earlier position. On June 12, the Prime Minister's Office detailed a call with President Trump in which Netanyahu expressed appreciation for commitments that any final deal require removal of enriched material, dismantling of enrichment infrastructure, limits on missile production, and an end to Iran's support for terror proxies. At the same time, the PMO stressed that Israel is not a party to the memorandum.
The reference to the Lebanese army appears to echo language from a trilateral framework deal with the U.S. and Lebanon, which The Zioneer reported on Friday evening as maintaining an IDF presence in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed, with two pilot areas for Lebanese army deployment. It remains unclear whether the Lebanese army deployment Netanyahu referenced is part of that same framework or a separate arrangement enabled by the broader US-Iran deal.
2 developments
- StrongNetanyahu sees Lebanon deal as major setback for Iran, pushes for broad coalition
- StrongNetanyahu holds press conference following Lebanon framework agreement
- ConfirmedNetanyahu details Lebanon security-zone framework; warns Iran against attack
- DevelopingSenior Israeli official calls US-Iran deal a 'great achievement'; Rubio calls it a 'first and difficult step'
Source and signal
A single-sourced dispatch is never rated Confirmed or Strong. Its Signal strengthens only when a second, independent source corroborates it.
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