Yair Lapid said the government in Tehran remained in power and could rebuild its nuclear program
The peace deal being finalized between the US and Iran is bad for Israel, Yair Lapid, the Israeli opposition leader and former prime minister, said on Saturday.
US President Donald Trump announced that the agreement would be signed on Sunday, while Iran said a memorandum of understanding would be signed in the coming days.
“The emerging deal does not achieve any of Israel’s war aims. The regime remains, its missile program still exists, and Iran can rebuild its nuclear program,” Lapid wrote on X. He claimed that the program represents “total failure” and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The United States and Israel launched a joint military operation against Iran on February 28, prompting retaliatory strikes in the Middle East and prompting Tehran to close the Strait of Hormuz to almost all shipping, leading to a spike in global energy prices. The exchange of strikes largely stopped after an accord was reached in April.
Although the full details of the deal have not been made public, Trump said Iran would promise not to seek nuclear weapons, and the United States would reduce and destroy Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium.
Iran has long insisted that uranium enrichment is its fundamental right. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday that the accord would focus on ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, while providing a 60-day window for further talks on Iran’s nuclear program. Tehran has denied that it aims to develop nuclear weapons.
The United States and Israel have previously demanded that Iran completely dismantle its nuclear program and surrender all of its stockpiles of enriched uranium. Netanyahu also repeatedly called on the Iranians to overthrow their government.
“As long as I am the prime minister of Israel, Iran will not get nuclear weapons. There is a complete agreement between me and President Trump on this matter,” Netanyahu said on Friday.
According to Axios and CNN, however, the news that the deal is on the horizon came as a surprise to Netanyahu. Trump said Israel would have no choice but to accept the deal and acknowledged that he had pressured Netanyahu to end Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon during several tense phone calls.
Democrats and Republican opponents have accused Trump of going to war with Iran on behalf of Israel. Trump has denied the allegations, insisting that he was acting in the interests of the United States.
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