Israel Growing Anxious Over Trump, What's Happening?
The Israeli government is reportedly worried that the United States will effectively legitimise Iran’s influence in Lebanon and erode Israel’s freedom to operate there. The report appeared on Axios on Tuesday, following talks in Switzerland last weekend and a memorandum of understanding signed between the US and Iran the previous week.
Citing two Israeli sources, Iran is considered to have successfully inserted the situation in Lebanon into its negotiations with the US to support its proxy, Hezbollah. The Trump administration has accepted that it must now restrain Israeli actions in Lebanon to advance its diplomacy with Iran.
“Israeli officials are concerned this new understanding will undermine months of American and Israeli efforts to weaken Hezbollah and reduce Iranian influence in Lebanon,” the site reported. “More urgently, they also worry about pushback from Washington every time they want to conduct strikes inside Lebanese territory, as well as pressure from President Trump to withdraw from southern Lebanon while the Hezbollah threat remains.”
The US-Iran MOU stipulates that both countries and their allies will end all hostilities, including in Lebanon. It will also ensure the territorial integrity and sovereignty of that country, which has been undermined by Israel’s ongoing occupation of southern Lebanon.
During the meeting in Switzerland, Iran threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz and walk out of negotiations if Israel continued attacks on Lebanon. The parties agreed to form a new “deconfliction cell”, together with Lebanon and mediators Pakistan and Qatar, to ensure the ceasefire holds.
“Israeli sources claim the new US-Iran agreement on Lebanon erodes a previous understanding reached between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and former President Joe Biden’s administration in 2024,” the report added. “Under the November 2024 Lebanon ceasefire agreement, brokered by the Biden administration, Israel retained the right to act against imminent threats and emerging threats from Hezbollah. Under the current conditions, Israel’s freedom of action appears limited only to imminent threats.”
“While the previous ceasefire monitoring mechanism involved Israel, Lebanon, the US, and France, this time Israel is not a direct participant, whereas Iran is a direct participant,” a source further reported, referring to developments in Switzerland.
According to another source, while the nuclear aspect of the US-Iran deal worries Netanyahu, the Lebanon section is more alarming. “Bibi is hysterical about it,” the source said, referring to Netanyahu’s nickname. “In recent days, Netanyahu asked his confidant Ron Dermer, who left the government a few months ago, to immediately use his connections with the Trump team to try to influence the US-Iran negotiations regarding Lebanon,” the same Israeli source stated. “Israeli action against Hezbollah carries significant domestic political importance ahead of the October elections,” the source added.