Netanyahu Cast Aside by Trump as US Excludes Israel from Iran Deal

Israel has been sidelined by the United States in a peace agreement with Iran, with the Israeli government admitting it was “not shown the memorandum of understanding (MOU)” designed to end Washington’s war with Tehran. A government official told NBC News on Wednesday local time, marking the latest sign of rising tensions between the US and Israel. Shortly after President Donald Trump said he had given a copy of the MOU to Israel, the same source stated Israel still had not seen the draft. The source declined to comment on whether Israeli diplomats had requested the text and been refused. This development is believed to be a major obstacle for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces a career-defining general election before the end of October. Furthermore, Trump has grown increasingly impatient with Netanyahu, angered in recent days by Israeli strikes on Lebanon that nearly derailed the US-Iran peace draft. “Without me, there would be no Israel,” Trump said at the G7 summit on Tuesday, calling Netanyahu “crazy” and using expletives to describe his poor judgement. Domestically, Netanyahu’s government has been criticised for not going far enough to cripple Iran, which is viewed as a real enemy and threat to Israel, along with its main proxy group, Hezbollah in Lebanon. A survey by the Israel Democracy Institute published two weeks ago found that 57.5% of Israelis believe ending the conflict based on the framework being discussed by the US and Iran would not serve Israel’s security interests. Netanyahu’s domestic rivals have condemned him, with former Prime Minister Ehud Barak stating on Monday that Israel is suffering the consequences of Netanyahu’s arrogance and blindness, and his attempted manipulation of Trump. “Iran is getting stronger, Israel is getting weaker. That is Netanyahu’s strategic responsibility. He failed,” Barak asserted. Yair Lapid, who is expected to challenge Netanyahu in this year’s election, called the draft agreement one of the most shocking failures in Israeli foreign and security policy, entirely attributable to Netanyahu.