Netanyahu Says Israel Is Not Bound by U.S.-Iran Deal, Rejects Withdrawal From Lebanon, Syria, Gaza

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is preparing to navigate a looming U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding while senior Israeli officials say Israel is not bound by it and will not withdraw from territories it has captured.

WhoWhatWhy reports that National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said, “Israel is not subject to the United States, and we are an independent and sovereign nation!” and added that Israel is not America’s vassal state.

Al-Jazeera Net

The same WhoWhatWhy account says Defense Minister Israel Katz reiterated that Israeli forces would remain indefinitely in parts of Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza that they are currently occupying.

In parallel, Hamshahri Online says the Office of the Israeli Prime Minister announced that Benjamin Netanyahu will meet Donald Trump on Wednesday at the White House, with the meeting moved up by Netanyahu’s own request by one week.

Hamshahri Online also quotes Netanyahu’s office that the prime minister believes any talks must include limits on Iran’s ballistic missiles and an end to support for the Iran-backed axis, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.

DW reports that Donald Trump, speaking on February 12, said he expects an agreement with Iran to take shape within the next month and warned Tehran that failure to reach a consensus would carry major risks.

DW quotes Trump at the White House saying, “I think within the next month or so; this has to happen quickly.”

Bawaba al-Hadaf al-Ikhbariyya

DW also says Trump referred to U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June last year (Khordad 1404) and warned, “otherwise the situation will be very catastrophic, very catastrophic.”

DW adds that on Wednesday shortly after finishing his meeting with Netanyahu, Trump said, “No definite result was achieved, except that I emphasized that negotiations with Iran should continue to see whether it is possible to finalize an agreement.”

In the same DW account, the United States and Iran held talks in Oman last Friday for the first time since the June attacks, and further rounds of talks are expected on dates yet to be determined.

As Israel weighs how to respond to a U.S.-Iran track that includes an end to fighting in Lebanon, WhoWhatWhy says Israel is emerging as a “wild card” that could throw a wrench in plans and prolong the war.

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WhoWhatWhy frames Israel’s position as insisting on security outcomes, with Ben-Gvir saying Israel should settle for nothing less than the dismantling of the terrorist group Hezbollah and that it should not withdraw from the territories it has captured.

El Mundo says the memorandum of understanding sent by Trump to Netanyahu hours before its publication is seen in Israel as strengthening the Iranian regime in exchange for something that months ago seemed guaranteed, including navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and the inclusion of the Lebanese front.

El Mundo also reports that, since the memorandum announcement and due to Trump’s calls for greater restraint in Lebanon, the Israeli army has considerably limited attacks against Hizbulá, and it says the pro-Iran militia reduced the rockets and drones against the troops on a day when it wounded five soldiers.

Kurdistan24 adds that Trump’s pressure and Netanyahu’s hardline public opinion leave Netanyahu at a crossroads, with analyst Avi Bushinsky describing a choice between bowing to Trump and losing his right-wing base or rebelling against Washington and risking a full-scale war with Iran without the vital American defense umbrella.