Why Israel's Netanyahu is unhappy with the US-Iran deal to end the war: "Trump deal does not bind us"

Israeli ministers have expressed displeasure over the Iran-US deal, which has yet to be signed and formalized. A proposed pact to end the war in the Middle East has sparked outrage because it is said to include the Lebanese conflict.

US President Donald Trump, Pakistani mediators and Iran said the deal included a halt to fighting on all fronts, including in Lebanon.

According to AFP, two far-right ministers claimed Israel was not bound by the deal. Meanwhile, a leading opposition candidate in the upcoming election said it marked a “dangerous turn” for the country’s security.

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In an initial reaction, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said on his Telegram channel: “Trump’s agreement does not bind us… we are not a party to this agreement. It does not ensure our security.”

He said the goal is to dismantle the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, which operates in Lebanon.

“We must not settle for anything less than the dismantling of Hezbollah. We must not withdraw from a single centimeter of territory that our troops have captured and cleared of terrorist infrastructure,” he said.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also echoed the sentiment, calling the deal “bad for Israel.”

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Smotrich also called for a stronger campaign in Lebanon. “We will be judged in Lebanon. This is our war, our soldiers and the immediate security of our northerners,” he was quoted as saying by AFP.

“I will continue to work to ensure that we stand firm and allow the IDF complete freedom of action to continue to push Hezbollah further,” Smotrich added.

According to Reuters, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the Israeli military would remain in the security zones it captured in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had made that clear to Trump.

Katz said Monday that the country would not withdraw its forces from a large swath of southern Lebanon that it has effectively occupied for weeks under the US-Iran deal, “despite all existing pressures and those yet to come,” the Times of Israel reported.

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“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have a clear policy that dictates that the IDF will remain in the security zones in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza without any time limit to protect the border and hence Israeli communities from jihadist elements,” Katz said.

He reportedly said that the security zones would be “cleared of local residents and all terrorist infrastructure above and below ground, including houses in contact line villages that served as terrorist bases, would be destroyed.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not immediately comment.

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What did the US-Iran deal say about Lebanon?

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a key mediator between the US and Iran in peace talks, said that “after three months and 16 days of unprecedented processes, an immediate and permanent halt to military operations on all fronts, including Iran, America and Lebanon, has been announced”.

Meanwhile, the Secretariat of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said military operations would be permanently halted on Monday evening, including in Lebanon.

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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said there must be a complete halt to Israeli attacks against Lebanon, and the US is responsible for implementing the framework agreement.

Before the memorandum was announced, Trump said he would bring peace to the region, including Lebanon. He said there should be no more Israeli attacks on Lebanon and no more attacks on Israel by the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah.

Pakistan said it would oversee the signing ceremony of the framework agreement on Friday in Geneva, Switzerland, Al Jazeera reported.