Reuters: Netanyahu admits he cannot influence Trump's decisions on Iran
Netanyahu admitted that he cannot influence Trump's decisions on Iran, Reuters reports, citing sources. Apparently, Washington's agreement with Tehran will not take into account all the concerns of the Israeli prime minister. At home, he is criticized for not achieving all his goals during the current war.
Rami Ayyub
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has admitted in private conversations with confidants that Israel has little ability to influence Donald Trump's decisions on Iran in negotiations to end the nearly three-month-old war, two sources said.
Two Israeli officials with knowledge of the situation told Reuters that Netanyahu's comments were made due to the fact that the Jewish state has nothing to do with negotiations on a cease-fire in the conflict that began with joint US-Israeli bombing.
Both the United States and Iran rate the likelihood of an early breakthrough in the negotiations low and continue to disagree about Tehran's nuclear program, its demands for the lifting of sanctions and an end to Israel's war with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.
Netanyahu, for his part, defends the right to continue operations against perceived threats on all fronts, including the Lebanese one. This threatens to derail a possible agreement if Iran continues to insist on a complete cessation of Israeli military operations in the south of the country.
Trump: “Netanyahu will do whatever I want him to do”
One of the Israeli officials who participated in private conversations with Netanyahu said that the Israeli leader expressed concern about the memorandum of understanding, which is currently being discussed. Both sources agreed to disclose the contents of private conversations on condition of anonymity.
According to a senior Trump administration official, Iran will agree to open the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for lifting the US counter-blockade, which will presumably be followed by a discussion of the nuclear issue. The United States and Iran are conducting indirect talks mediated by Pakistan.
Iranian sources told Reuters that “workable formulas” could be found at future stages of negotiations to resolve the dispute over highly enriched uranium reserves. Dilution of the material under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) may be one option.
Although the agreement in its current form does not address Israel's concerns about Iran's nuclear program and its stockpiles, Netanyahu acknowledged that Israel “does not have the ability to influence the president right now," the Israeli official stressed.
The Netanyahu administration did not respond to a request for comment.
Trump and Netanyahu have spoken by phone at least three times in the past week, with Israeli officials saying the country is preparing to resume joint airstrikes with the United States on Iran's energy infrastructure.
On Tuesday evening, after the first of three conversations, reporters asked Trump what exactly he had said to Netanyahu.
“He's a very good man and he'll do whatever I want him to do,” Trump replied.
The next time they talked was on Friday evening. On Saturday, after the American leader held a joint meeting with colleagues from the Persian Gulf, Turkey and Pakistan, informing them about the progress of negotiations on Iran, Trump and Netanyahu had a third conversation.
After that call, Netanyahu, who had refrained from commenting on the upcoming agreement up to that point, said that he and Trump had discussed “a memorandum of understanding on opening the Strait of Hormuz and upcoming negotiations on a final agreement on Iran's nuclear program.”
Netanyahu said he and Trump agreed that the final solution “should involve dismantling Iran's uranium enrichment facilities and removing nuclear materials from the country.”
He also said that Trump “reaffirmed Israel's right to defend itself from threats on all fronts, including the Lebanese one.”
The fighting between Israel and Hezbollah continues, despite the April 16 cease-fire concluded after the truce between the United States and Iran.
The Israeli military is still stationed in southern Lebanon, they continue to launch air strikes against Hezbollah positions, while the militants of this movement launch drones at troops and northern Israeli cities.
Netanyahu under pressure before the election
The agreement comes at a difficult time for Netanyahu ahead of national elections, which he is projected to lose. Opponents criticize him for not achieving his stated goals in the war.
At the beginning of the US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, Netanyahu said that Israel seeks to create conditions for the overthrow of the Iranian clergy, the elimination of its nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities, and also wants to undermine its ability to influence the entire region.
Trump ordered the start of an operation in Iran after Netanyahu, in a conversation with the US president, called for the joint destruction of Supreme leader Ali Khamenei, Reuters reported. Khamenei was killed in the first strikes.
Since then, the military goals of Israel and the United States have diverged, and Washington has focused on opening the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas supplies passed before the war.
In an interview with CBS this month, Netanyahu stressed that more needs to be done to remove enriched uranium from Iran, cut off support for its regional puppets, and stop the production of ballistic missiles.
“There is a lot of work to be done,” Netanyahu concluded.
