Netanyahu told Trump Israel will remain free to act against threats, Israeli source says

JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US President Donald Trump that Israel would remain free to act against threats in Lebanon during a phone call about an emerging agreement between the US and Iran on May 23, an Israeli source said.

Mr Trump said Washington and Iran had “largely negotiated” a memorandum of understanding on a peace deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping passage that has been effectively closed since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran in February.

“In last night's conversation with President Trump, the Prime Minister emphasised that Israel will maintain freedom of action against threats in all arenas, including Lebanon, and President Trump reiterated and supported this principle,” the Israeli political source told Reuters on May 24, asking not to be named.

Expectations rose that a breakthrough might be imminent in the three-month-old war after Mr Trump said an emerging agreement being brokered by Pakistan would reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s Fars news agency said the draft stipulates that the US and its allies will not attack Iran or its allies, and in return, Iran pledges not to launch pre-emptive attacks on them.

Prominent Israeli politician Benny Gantz said it would be a strategic mistake for Israel to accept a ceasefire in Lebanon, which its troops have entered to fight the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia, as part of a deal with Iran.

According to the Israeli source, the US is updating Israel on the negotiations with Iran.

“President Trump made it clear that he will stand firm in negotiations on his consistent demand for the dismantling of the Iranian nuclear programme and the removal of all enriched uranium from its territory, and that he will not sign a final agreement without these conditions being met,” the source said.

Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that a call with Mr Netanyahu had gone “very well”. REUTERS