Morning After Trump's Deal

 Nadene Goldfoot                                     

The Washington Post is on the job, but not CNN so far. CNN doesn't write in a thing about why Israel shoots at Hezbollah who are in Lebanon.  Hezbollah are the terrorists with all the ammunition given to them by Iran,....for Pete's sake.  Anyway, I haven't seen it this morning in their shpiel about the deal.  

 Israel vehemently opposes the emerging U.S.-Iran peace and ceasefire agreement brokered by President Trump. Israeli leadership, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, has stated that Israel is "not a party" to the memorandum of understanding and is not bound by it. 

Lack of Binding Authority: Far-right ministers and military officials have publicly defied the agreement, stating on platforms like The Times of Israel that Israel is an independent sovereign state. As a publication, The Times of Israel maintains a centrist and politically independent editorial orientation. It operates without affiliation to any political party, allowing its writers and editors to present a broad, diverse range of perspectives regarding Israel's statehood, sovereignty, and independence. 

The platform's commentary on the concept of Israeli independence generally highlights several nuanced themes:

• Sovereignty & Security: Writers frequently debate the degree of Israel's genuine geopolitical autonomy. Recent discussions often contrast the nation's foundational right to self-determination against the heavy influence of shifting international alliances and foreign pressure

Lebanon and Hezbollah: Israeli officials stress they will not compromise on anything less than the complete dismantling of Hezbollah and will not withdraw from territories they have captured.                                      

Nuclear Requirements: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated on The Jerusalem Post that for the deal to be viable, it must demand the removal of all enriched material, the dismantling of enrichment infrastructure, and the cessation of Iranian support for terrorist proxies.  (I take it that it means before any deal happens, not after....!!!! )

Trump told the New York Times in an interview after the agreement was announced that if Iran failed to reach a final agreement on nuclear issues, the US would restart attacks against Tehran.

There are five twists that will determine whether Trump's nuclear deal will be seen in five months and five years as good or bad for Israel.  

The framework deal signed on Sunday-Monday starts a 60-day negotiation period to resolve nuclear and sanctions issues. If the 60% enriched uranium is removed from Iran or diluted under US supervision, the last piece of Iran's nuclear program, which could have presented a danger in the next year or two, will be gone (most of the near-term danger was removed by the June 2025 war)

Jerusalem Post continues:  Keep an eye, though, also on the 20% enriched uranium. This is not as dangerous as the 60%, and so has been in the news less. But getting from 3.67% to 5% to 20% is a significant achievement. Removing ot diluting this uranium is also critical to prevent Iran from ever having a running start toward a nuclear weapon.

Patience will be critical. It will probably take weeks or months, even after the 60-day final deal is signed in mid-August to get the 60% uranium as it is under huge volumes of rubble from when the facilities holding it were bombed by Israel and the US in June 2025.

Broader Security: Israeli analysts and military sources have expressed deep concern that the deal acts as a political victory for Tehran without comprehensively addressing the country's ballistic missile program or regional influence,  and that must mean the people's reaction of rebellion to the Ayatollah regime wanting the Prince back from the regime they had squashed.  Tousi's Broadcasting from England tells that;  and  not CNN.  

Update:  from israelAM:  President Trump announced a ceasefire deal with Iran, which apparently the Iranians have confirmed, that will immediately open the Strait of Hormuz and lift the U.S. naval blockade. The final deal will be signed on Friday in Switzerland, after which they have 60 days to start talks on dealing with Iran's nuclear program. The ceasefire also applies to Lebanon. The Tel Aviv stock exchange dropped over a percent on the news. Investors apparently don't think the deal is that good for Israel.

While the details of the agreement remain unclear, as is whether Iran will actually sign and abide by it, Defense Minister Katz wrote today: “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I are leading a clear policy stating that the IDF will remain in the security zones in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza without a time limit, in order to protect the border and Israeli communities from jihadist elements. The area will be cleared of local residents, and all terror infrastructure, above and below ground, including homes in contact-line villages that served as terror outposts, will be destroyed.”  So no withdrawal of IDF forces. He added, "Prime Minister Netanyahu made this clear to U.S. President Trump and other senior American officials, and I also made it clear yesterday to U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.”

According to Minister of Transport Miri Regev, if the 72 U.S. military refueling planes that are parked at Ben Gurion airport and taking up more than have the parking spots are not moved within the next 48 hours, over 2.4 million airline tickets sold for the summer and holidays season will have to be cancelled, resulting in billions of dollars in losses for airlines, the tourism industry and the economy.