Trump Tells Netanyahu He Won’t Sign Iran Deal Without Dismantling Nuclear Program

U.S. President Donald Trump told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he would not sign a final agreement with Iran unless Tehran dismantles its nuclear program and removes all enriched uranium from its territory, a senior Israeli official said on Sunday.

“Netanyahu expresses to Trump his concern about delaying the handling of the Iranian nuclear issue and about linking the Lebanon ceasefire with Iran”

Anadolu Ajansi

The official said the United States is updating Israel on negotiations toward a memorandum of understanding to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and enter talks on a final agreement over unresolved issues.

Anadolu Ajansi

Netanyahu, the official said, told Trump in a call Saturday night that Israel would preserve freedom of action against threats on all fronts, including Lebanon, and Trump again backed that principle.

The Hill reported Netanyahu said he supports Trump on a memorandum of understanding with Iran but asserted that the final deal must also cover Iran’s nuclear program, writing on X that it must eliminate the nuclear danger by dismantling Iran’s nuclear enrichment sites and removing its enriched nuclear material from its territory.

The New York Times reported, as cited by The Jerusalem Post, that Netanyahu is being sidelined and Israel is "almost entirely out of the loop" in talks between the United States and Iran.

The Guardian described how reported terms for reopening the Strait of Hormuz sparked alarm in Israel, quoting Nahum Barnea in Yedioth Ahronoth saying, "Israel is completely beholden to the decisions of a capricious, hollow and desperate American president."

The Guardian

The Guardian also quoted Ben Caspit in Ma’ariv warning, "If they [Iran] do come to possess a nuclear bomb, it will be Bibi’s bomb."

In parallel, The Jerusalem Post said Netanyahu stressed in his Saturday evening phone call that Israel would preserve freedom of action against threats on all fronts, including Lebanon, and that Trump reiterated and supported the principle.

Reuters, citing Pakistani officials, reported the framework deal has three stages: ending the war, reopening the Strait of Hormuz and then holding 30 days of talks, with a possible extension, to address remaining details.

“byRyan Mancini05/24/26 01:15 PM ET Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said he supports President Trump on amemorandum of understandingwith Iran but asserted that the final deal must also cover Iran’s nuclear program”

The Hill

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X that any agreement must de-escalate the regional conflict, reopen Hormuz and guarantee full freedom of navigation without fees, and she added that Iran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.

The Hill reported Iran’s state-run Fars news agency said the deal would allow the regime to manage the Strait of Hormuz, where roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil supply travels through, while Fars stated the reference to the strait was "inconsistent with reality" because it would not allow for the free passage of cargo vessels through the strait.

The Guardian said far-right members of Netanyahu’s coalition pushed him to challenge the US president on a partial ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon, and quoted Itamar Ben-Gvir writing on social media on Monday, "It is time for the prime minister to bang on Trump’s table and inform him that we are returning to war in Lebanon."