Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid has criticised an emerging agreement between the United States and Iran, calling it harmful to Israel and the wider Middle East while accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of failing to influence negotiations with Washington.

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Speaking to reporters in Jerusalem on Monday, Lapid said the proposed deal under discussion “fails to achieve any of Israel’s goals for the war” and described its details as “disturbing”.

“The deal is bad for Israel, bad for the region, bad for the citizens of Iran,” he said.

War aims and proposed terms

Israel and the US launched military operations against Iran on 28 February, saying they aimed to dismantle Iran’s ballistic missile programme, curb its support for regional proxy groups and prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.

Both Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump had also said they hoped the conflict would create conditions for the fall of Iran’s government.

According to regional officials, the proposed agreement would require Iran to surrender its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz. In return, the US would end its blockade of Iranian ports and lift sanctions on Tehran.

The deal would reportedly leave broader negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme to a later 60-day period. It remains unclear whether the talks would also cover Iran’s missile capabilities or its backing of armed groups across the region.

Lapid thanked Trump for joining Israel in the conflict, but said Netanyahu had failed to maintain influence over Washington during negotiations.

“The Israeli government is at an all-time low in its ability to influence decisions in Washington,” Lapid said, referring to Trump’s recent remark that “Netanyahu will do whatever I want him to do.”

Israel’s position on sovereignty

An Israeli official familiar with conversations between Netanyahu and Trump said the prime minister had repeatedly stressed that Israel retained “freedom of action” against threats in any arena.

“Israel is a sovereign state, we are not a vassal state and we are not a protectorate,” Lapid said.

Lapid currently leads the centrist Yesh Atid party and served briefly as Israel’s prime minister in 2022 under a rotation agreement with former premier Naftali Bennett.

The pair have now merged their political factions ahead of elections due by the end of October, seeking to unite opposition groups against Netanyahu after years of political fragmentation.

Debate over Palestinian statehood

Lapid also addressed the issue of Palestinian statehood, saying the next Israeli government would not pursue a two-state solution in the near future.

He said the aftermath of the 7 October 2023 attacks by Hamas and the wars that followed had fundamentally changed Israeli public opinion.

“There will be no two-state solution in the coming years, because Israelis now understand this will become just another failing terrorist state on our borders,” Lapid said.

At the same time, he said he would oppose unilateral moves that could permanently prevent the creation of a Palestinian state in the future. Lapid added that Bennett had assured him Israel would not move towards annexing the occupied West Bank.

Coalition plans before election

Lapid also ruled out forming a future governing coalition with Arab political parties.

Opinion polls suggest the opposition alliance may struggle to secure a parliamentary majority without support from Arab lawmakers, as happened in 2021 when Lapid and Bennett formed a coalition government with backing from Mansour Abbas and his small Arab faction.

Lapid defended that earlier arrangement as “the right government for the moment” but said Israel’s political climate had shifted after nearly three years of conflict.

He said neither he nor Bennett intended to rely on Abbas’ party in the next election cycle.

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Adapted by ASEAN Now. Source 27 Ma

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If it is harmful to Israel, Bibi's US top bootlicker has to fix it

If the current US administration was smart which they aren't they should pull out of Iran and let Israel go it alone.

Israel will never be happy or agree to anything except to wiping out all other citizens in the middle east.

After they have achieved that.

They will start on the rest of the world

How do we know?

Because Israel has already said that the Jewish state wants to rule the world.

the world was promised to them

51 minutes ago, Deerculler said:

Because Israel has already said that the Jewish state wants to rule the world.

Israel has never stated that it wants to rule the world. The claim that the Jewish state has expressed this desire stems from long-standing antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories, such as the fabricated Protocols of the Elders of Zion, rather than any official statements or declarations by the Israeli government

If Israel is that upset about it then they can pay back the countries that helped them and go at it alone. They act like children if they don’t get their way. Not saying Mr. T is much better, but hopefully someone around him with some sense will tell him to get out while he can.

6 minutes ago, malibukid said:

the world was promised to them

They fail to see that this statement (same as being the chosen people) means either god doesn't exist or he is not good.

No good god would promote inequality.

4 hours ago, Rams86 said:

If the current US administration was smart which they aren't they should pull out of Iran and let Israel go it alone.

Or put down Israel ???

It is Netanyahu’s 40 years wet dream to eliminate Iran and he finally found an idiot in the White House that bought his bs wholesale. He will not let this once-in-his lifetime chance passed.

Posts with derogatory nicknames, intentional misspellings, or personal remarks will be removed. Spell names correctly for all sides of the debate.

Trump’s Iran Peace Push Unravels As Israel Defies White House

President Donald Trump is facing growing doubts over his ability to secure a lasting peace deal with Iran after fresh military strikes and escalating violence in Lebanon exposed widening cracks in Washington’s regional strategy.

Trump claimed over the weekend that an agreement to end the conflict with Iran had been “largely negotiated”. Days later, however, the situation appeared to deteriorate rapidly as new US strikes targeted Iran and Israel intensified operations in southern Lebanon.

Peace Talks Hit A Dangerous Wall

Analysts warn the biggest threat to diplomacy may no longer be Tehran itself, but Israel’s refusal to fully comply with ceasefire expectations tied to the negotiations.

Iran has reportedly made halting Israeli bombardments in Lebanon a central condition for any wider agreement with Washington. Yet Israeli operations have continued, including a controversial “double tap” strike in southern Lebanon that reportedly targeted emergency responders arriving after an initial attack.

Lebanese authorities say more than 3,100 people have been killed and nearly 10,000 wounded since March as the regional conflict spirals wider.

The Reagan Comparison Hanging Over Trump

Political analyst Trita Parsi argued that Trump’s problem is not simply diplomacy, but leverage.

Parsi pointed to former President Ronald Reagan, who in 1982 reportedly pressured Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin to halt the bombardment of Beirut during the Lebanon War.

According to historical accounts, Reagan warned that US support was not unconditional. The bombing stopped within hours.

Trump, critics argue, has shown little ability — or willingness — to impose similar discipline on Israel despite publicly calling for restraint earlier this year.

War Risks Growing Beyond Washington’s Control

The deeper concern inside diplomatic circles is that events may now be outrunning the White House itself.

Every new strike weakens already fragile negotiations and raises the risk of a broader regional confrontation stretching from Iran to Lebanon and the Gulf. Trump may still present himself as the architect of a deal, but allies and adversaries alike are increasingly testing whether Washington still has the power to enforce one.

Trump's Iran deal is failing because he lacks key ability Ronald Reagan possessed: expert

Iran wants Israel to stop bombing Lebanon.

Israel wants Hezbollah to cease bombing north Israel.

The Lebanese government doesn't have enough military power to prevent Hezbollah who are much more than a militia, more like a mini-state within Lebanon providing social services to the population, from attacking Israel.

Only Iran can control Hezbollah by providing/cutting off funds.

Thus a peace deal has to include provisions whereby Israel withdraws from Lebanon and Hezbollah agrees to stop attacking Israel. Trump has to seriously threaten both Israel ( cease military aid) and Iran (control Hezbollah), not easy!