The recent memorandum of understanding between President Donald Trump’s administration and the Iranian regime has disappointed and even frightened many Israelis. Many had hoped, perhaps naively, that the American president would fulfill his promise to end Iran’s ability to terrorize its regional neighbors.The June 17 MOU between the United States and the Islamic Republic is a 14-point document aimed to establish a ceasefire and create a diplomatic off-ramp for the recent war, a conflict that pitted the U.S. and Israel against Iran. The MOU’s 60-day duration is supposed to provide time for negotiations toward a permanent settlement.But the document was an American initiative, not an Israeli one. A turn of events that has spurred consternation in the Jewish State.
“Israelis were very disappointed with the MOU,” said Gayil Talshir, an expert on Israeli public opinion at the Hebrew University. When Israel and the U.S. jointly launched their offensive against Iran on Feb. 28, “There were very clear targets: to dismantle the ayatollah regime; to destroy Iran’s nuclear weapons capabilities and remove its enriched uranium; to disable Iran’s ballistic missiles; and to cut off the relationship between Iran and its proxies, especially Hezbollah.”Not one of these goals has been achieved, Talshir said. Even worse, Iran is conditioning a reduction of its nuclear arsenal to a full and unconditional IDF withdrawal from southern Lebanon while Hezbollah is still armed and dangerous.
