NYT: Israel Fought Iran Twice Within a Year — and Gained Nothing

U.S.-Iran War Key News

Central Message

(Central News Agency, Tel Aviv, April 14 —综合 international reports) The United States and Iran announced today they have reached a preliminary agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and establish a 60-day negotiation window to pave the way for a final agreement. However, across Israel’s political spectrum, there is widespread belief that this deal does nothing to resolve the fundamental security threat Iran poses to Israel.

Israel’s major newspaper, Yediot Aharonot, ran a front-page headline on April 14 calling the impending deal between Trump and Iran a 'Bad Deal.'

The New York Times notes that Israel has fought two wars against Iran within the past year: first a 12-day war in June last year, and then a joint military operation with U.S. forces against Iran on February 28 this year. Now, Israel is not involved in the negotiations between the Trump administration and Iran, and risks being excluded from this peace process.

According to officials from both sides, Iran will reopen the Strait of Hormuz — a vital waterway for the global economy — under this preliminary agreement, while the U.S. will lift its blockade on Iranian ports.

The ceasefire reached in April will be extended for another 60 days, during which the U.S. and Iran will hold detailed negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program and the lifting of U.S. sanctions, laying the groundwork for a final agreement.

Yet this falls far short of the goals Israel set when it began its two wars. Even before the U.S.-Iran announcement on April 14, Israeli media leaks about the deal’s content triggered waves of criticism and discontent across the political spectrum. Many Israelis believe the U.S.-Iran deal fails to address the fundamental security threat posed by Iran.

At the outset of the February 28 conflict, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the goal was to 'eliminate the factors threatening Israel’s survival,' including eliminating Iran’s nuclear threat, destroying its ballistic missile program, and creating conditions for the Iranian people to overthrow the current theocratic regime.

Israeli experts worry that many issues critical to Israel’s security appear to have been entirely excluded from the U.S.-Iran agreement.

Avigdor Liberman, former Israeli Defense Minister and right-wing politician, wrote on social media on April 14: 'From Israel’s perspective, this is a disaster.' Liberman, once an ally of Netanyahu, now fiercely criticizes him.

An unnamed Israeli insider revealed Israel’s main grievances with the U.S.-Iran preliminary deal: no clear resolution on Iran’s existing stockpile of enriched uranium; insufficient constraints on Iran’s nuclear program that appear overly reliant on Iran’s goodwill; and no mechanism to prevent funds from flowing back into Iran’s treasury, potentially strengthening the regime.

Israel is also dissatisfied that the agreement does nothing to create conditions for the collapse of the Iranian regime and includes no clear mechanism to force Iran to cease supporting regional proxies such as Hezbollah and Hamas.

Israel is expected to hold parliamentary elections by late October this year, and Netanyahu is currently under immense political pressure. This pressure comes from within his governing coalition and from external critics, potentially plunging Netanyahu — who faces ongoing corruption charges — into an unprecedented crisis.

Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 on three counts, including improperly accepting gifts from wealthy donors, on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.

U.S. media outlets, including Axios, reported that on June 1, Trump called Netanyahu and angrily berated him for escalating military operations in Lebanon, which interfered with U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks. Trump reportedly said, 'If it weren’t for me, you’d already be in prison.' (Translation: Chen Yi-wei) 1150615

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