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⚡️ Simultaneously with the announcement by President Trump of an agreement with Iran, Israeli media were reporting that Trump had held a call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, possibly to inform of the agreement, plus the terms of the agreement, including withdrawal from Lebanon.
🔹 Following the call, Netanyahu went into a small security cabinet meeting which was being held in a undisclosed location due to security fears over an Iranian response to Israel’s attack on Dahieh.
🔹 Netanyahu addressed the Israeli public in relation to the deal later in the day, while previously there had been various comments made in the press, from other ministers including Finance Minister Smotrich and Security Minister Ben-Gvir, along with comments from President Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam from Lebanon.
NETANYAHU’S PRESS CONFERENCE:
⚡️ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a press conference at 8pm local; time, saying that with or without an agreement, there would be no nuclear weapons: “Not today, not tomorrow – as long as I’m prime minister of Israel, this will not happen,” he said.
🔹 Netanyahu said he’d heard questions of what have Israel achieved from the war, stating that Israel removed the danger of ‘immediate annihilation,’ saying: “Together with our American friends we embarked on the largest airstrike in Israel’s history, we thwarted the nuclear scientists, we killed the leaders of the terrorist regime, we crushed the nuclear factories, we destroyed missiles, and most of the factories.”
🔹 The Prime Minister warned that the fight is not over: “We will have to continue to be on our guard, continue to be strong and determined to defend ourselves as much as it takes, this is true not only against Iran, it is also true against Iran’s terrorist arms, in which we hit in an unprecedented way,” adding: “We did it in Gaza, we did it in Lebanon, we did it in Syria, in Yemen, we did it in the refugee camps in Judea and Samaria, we did it everywhere.”
🔹 Netanyahu claimed the most important thing was that: “We saved the State of Israel from the threat of nuclear annihilation, because you have to understand, Iran raced to the nuclear, just before with a wolf, it raced to the nuclear and raced to preserve its nuclear and missile industry deep underground,” adding: “If we had not acted at the time we acted, and with the intensity with which we had acted.”
🔹 The PM continued to say he could say the Iranian people were in a very difficult economic situation because Israel had hit all possible infrastructure in the country: “The damage is enormous, there are cracks even within this regime,” he claimed.
🔹 Netanyahu commented on Gaza, saying: “We have destroyed thousands of terrorists and countless terrorist infrastructures, and we returned all our abductees from Gaza until the last one of them, no one believed we could do it, but I did.”
🔹 According to Netanyahu, the Iranian axis is a shadow of what it was: “There is more work to do,” he stressed: “In Gaza we control over 60% of the territory of Gaza, and Gaza no longer poses a real threat to Israel.”
🔹 Netanyahu said there was going to be more great things to achieve in the region while building new alliances and countries, as well as outside the region: “We will guarantee our armed independence and I am putting 350 billion shekels there for the defence budget,” he said, adding: “We will develop concepts that break the boundaries of the imagination and we will make Israel an even stronger power.”
🔹 “The main thing I can tell you is that there is an organised and systematic effort to minimise the great achievements, to show that Israel comes out week,” Netanyahu claimed about the media, while stating his relationship with President Trump was a good one, like the best of families, agreeing many times, but also disagreeing, adding that Trump doesn’t do everything that Netanyahu requested.
🔹 Netanyahu said that Trump brought the US military to fight a common enemy, which he respected: “But as you can’t say, we are completely out of touch with what is happening in the world due to geopolitical considerations, you can’t say that we are completely subject to these considerations because I think that I, under my leadership, the State of Israel has proven that it is doing great things and it is leading many things – we initiate, we act, we surprise, and we also win.”
🔹 Concluding, the PM noted: “I said that we have our own interests, first of all regarding the nuclear threat – I am committed that we will not have – let there not be such a threat in front of us, and secondly, regarding Lebanon we have created the security area, we will stay in it as long as necessary.”
🔹 Netanyahu said that Iran wanted Israel to withdraw from there but it didn’t happen, because ‘I stood very very strong with them.’ he claimed, adding: “I was very, very firm about this, I think our American friends respect the firmness and assertive stance – we stay there,” he warned.
BEN-GVIR WILL NOW BOW TO PRESSURE:
⚡️ National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Israel was not bound by President Trump’s agreement with Iran and would act independently to protect its own interests.
🔹 Ben Gvir said Israel must not accept any arrangement that left Hezbollah intact, warning that every drone, missile or UAV launched from Lebanon would still be met with strikes on Beirut’s Dahieh district.
“Our duty is to the citizens of Israel, the soldiers of the IDF, and to the Jewish people, and our historical duty to the persecuted and murdered Jews over thousands of years of exile, to provide security to Jews in the Land of Israel.”
🔹 Ben-Gvir said that every time Israel succumbed to international pressure at the expense of Israel’s security: “We paid a blood price with interest,” adding: “It was true in the Oslo Accords, it was true in the Lebanon agreement in 2006, and it was true in every period of containment in Gaza that exploded in our faces.”
🔹 He said: “We love the USA and are grateful to President Trump, and yet, the State of Israel is not a banana republic,” adding: “I say these things to the Prime Minister all the time and repeat them in closed rooms at every important historical juncture: In historical moments, a historical decision must be made.”
🔹 Ben-Gvir made his position clear: “We are not partners to this agreement that does not ensure our security and does not bind us in any way, we must not compromise on anything less than the dismantling of Hezbollah.”
🔹 The minister continued: “We must not withdraw from any territory that our fighters have captured and cleared of terror infrastructure, we must not return to a situation where thousands of terrorists sit on the fences of northern settlements, and certainly we must not remain silent for a moment in the face of fire directed at the State of Israel.”
🔹 Ben-Gvir said Israel must make it clear: “Every launch of drone, UAV or missile towards Israel from Lebanon will lead to an Israeli strike on Dahieh,” adding that was the deterrence balance just a few months ago, and Israel must not give it up in any way.
🔹 The minister said that above all, Israel must make it clear to everyone: “The people of Israel is a people of 3,000 years, the eternal people that does not fear along road; we have faith in the Creator of the Universe, we are strong and proud people that returned to its homeland strong and proud, and does not intend to lower its gaze before enemies anymore,” adding that the days are over when the Jew took blows and kept silent: “Never again!” he said.
KATZ NOT MOVING:
⚡️ Israel will not withdraw from the security zones in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, and the IDF will remain there indefinitely to ‘protect the borders and settlements,’ Defence Minister Israel Katz warned.
🔹 Katz said that both he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were leading a policy according to which the IDF still remained in the security zones in Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip ‘without a time limit’ to protect the border settlements.
🔹 According to Katz, the areas will be cleared of local residents, ‘terror infrastructure will be destroyed, including in the contact villages,’ he said, adding that Israel opposed the IDF’s withdrawal from Lebanon, and the message conveyed to President Trump and officials was that if Iran attacked Israel following events in Lebanon on Sunday, Israel ‘will strike with full force.’
SMOTRICH SAYS DEAL BAD FOR ISRAEL:
⚡️ Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the agreement was bad for Israel and for the entire free world, period!
🔹 “The joint campaign had many achievements in weakening Iran, and they will not go to waste,” he said, stating: “We will have to continue the campaign to topple the regime ourselves in creative ways, and ensure that Iran will never have nuclear weapons.”
🔹 Smotrich said none of the candidates who see themselves as fit for the premiership would withstand even ten percent of the pressure currently being applied to the Israeli government, ‘and especially to the one at its head,’ he said: “In Lebanon, we will be tested, [but] this is our war, our fighters, and the immediate security of our northern residents.
🔹 The Finance Minister said he would continue to act so that Israel continue stand firm on “ours and allow the IDF full freedom of action to continue pushing Hezbollah away.”
AOUN COMMENTS ON THE CEASEFIRE:
⚡️ Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said the Lebanese people, especially those in areas affected by attacks and destruction who have lost loved ones, livelihoods, and homes, are looking forward to the understandings being translated into practical steps that would put a ‘definitive end to the cycle of violence and lay the foundations for a phase of stability, security, recovery, and reconstruction.
🔹 Aoun also expressed gratitude to all the countries and parties that contributed to the MoU, and everyone who worked to ensure that Lebanon was included in efforts aimed at halting military operations on various fronts, out of recognition of the extent of the suffering endured by the Lebanese people over the past few months.
SALAM COMMENTS ON AGREEMENT:
⚡️ Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam issued a statement saying that since the start of the war imposed on Lebanon, the government has worked to stop it and prevent further harm to Lebanon and its people: “We hope the ceasefire reached between the United States and Iran will put an end to the war and halt the killing, destruction, displacement and suffering inflicted on the Lebanese people,” it said.
🔹 “We will intensify our efforts through the ongoing negotiations in Washington to secure a full Israeli withdrawal from our territories and the release of our prisoners,” he continued, stating that Lebanon also looked forward to the safe and dignified return of displaced residents to their towns and villages as soon as possible.”
🔹 Salam added: “We will work with our brothers and friends to secure the requirements for the reconstruction and recovery across the country.”
BERRI COMMENTS ON AGREEMENT:
⚡️ Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri welcomed the MoU between Iran and the United States, commending the ‘efforts and initiative of Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt’ in facilitating an understanding, ‘which, through its provisions, lays the foundations for security and stability in the region, including Lebanon.’
🔹 Berri further expressed appreciation to both Tehran and Washington for ‘their determination to include in the memorandum a fundamental and binding clause for an end to Israeli aggression against Lebanon.’
🔹 The Speaker emphasises that the clause ‘on the cessation of hostilities preserved Lebanon’s sovereignty over its entire territory and does not conflict with its independence or its freedom to make national and sovereign decisions.’
HEZBOLLAH RESPONSE:
⚡️ Reuters were told by an Hezbollah official that the group has not carried out any operations since the US-Iran deal was announced, stressing that its position on the Lebanon ceasefire depended on Israel’s compliance, rejecting any Israeli ‘freedom of movement’ in Lebanon, adding that Iran delayed the signing agreement with Washington to monitor Israel’s compliance with the ceasefire in Lebanon.
🔹 Hezbollah published a statement that expressed thanks and gratitude for everyone involved in including Lebanon in the MoU, along with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who ‘guided the phase with wisdom, courage, and foresight that has seldom been matched.”
🔹 The statement affirmed that what has been achieved is a prelude to completing the path towards the full liberation of Lebanon, the return of prisoners to their homeland and families, and the return of all the people, especially residents of frontline villages on the forward edge, to their towns and homes, calling on residents to remain patient and await official guidelines in regards to a safe return to their villages and towns.
🔹 Hezbollah said that Israel must understand there is no returning to the status quo prior to March 2nd: “The resistance, which has always been and remains the vigilant eye protecting our homeland and our people, will never accept any aggression that violates the sovereignty of its nation or sheds the blood of its people,” it warned.
🔹 Consequently, Hezbollah emphasised that the current stage demanded that the authority and all Lebanese political forces return to a unified national stance to achieve the goals that unite the Lebanese people, because within those goals lie Lebanon’s true interest, safeguarding its sovereignty, strength, and resilience against the ambitions of Israel.
TIMELINE OF COMMENTS:
⚡️ Chairman of the Yachad party, Naftali Bennet, said: “This is not a decree of fate, it can be fixed, we have a clear strategic plan to collapse the Iranian regime,” stating on one hand, Israel will not allow Iran to break through to nuclear capability, while on the other hand, Israel will bring about the “regime’s disintegration through diplomatic, intelligence, economic, technological, and military means together.”
⚡️ Opposition leader Benny Gantz warned Israel must not agree to restrictions on its freedom of action in Lebanon or any withdrawal that endangers northern residents: “The emerging agreement with Iran appeared to be a strategic failure that would require Israel to engage in a political, military, and legal struggle for the coming years, one that can only be led by a broad Zionist government.”
⚡️ US Republican Senator and noted warmonger Lindsey Graham expressed ‘concern’ about Iran’s interpretation of the agreement, saying that although he is ‘pleased’ with the agreement on a MoU between the US and Iran, he is ‘somewhat concerned’ that ‘Iran’s view of the agreement seemed different to what the American negotiating team claimed, adding that he would closely monitor the next negotiations, and was eagerly awaiting the review of the ‘final product’ in Congress.
⚡️ Home Front Command lowered the heightened warnings and alerts on Monday morning, as well as removing the restriction of gatherings of up to 5,000 people, which had been imposed on Sunday night following concerns of retaliation from Iran, but since the negotiated deal was announced, Israel have since stood down.
Yair Lapid said: “Netanyahu lost the war, Netanyahu did not deliver – he collapsed at the moment of truth,” adding that there had never been a ‘more complete failure than Netanyahu’s political failure on the Iranian front.”
Democrats Chairman Yair Golan said: “Whoever promised a ‘total victory’ will end his term with Israel’s enemies stronger,” stating that Israel were weaker, and the deterrence ‘built with the blood of our fighters eroding before our eyes,’ adding: “The Iranians will write him a letter of appreciation.”
Ben-Gvir said a sovereign state is not an ‘executor contractor for any superpower, and it is not obligated to agreements that put an end to its ability to defend itself,’ adding: “I demand from the Prime Minister to allow the IDF forces to continue the important activity of demolishing houses, eliminating Hezbollah terrorists, and removing residents from their homes – we must not act according to the agreements between Trump and Khamenei.”
Naftali Bennet said: “The countdown to regime change in Iran will begin the moment the government has been replaced,” stating that soon, the people of Israel will choose a new, energetic, and determined leadership that ‘will restore security to Israel,” adding that Netanyahu knows: “I am the only one who can look him straight in the eye.”
Following Netanyahu’s statement, Yair Lapid said: “One could argue that we are a power and a step away from regional control, one can argue that we are in danger of annihilation and a step away from mass death, but not both things and certainly not within a minute’s difference,” adding that Israel is a strong country with a weak government, “that is the main problem and we will solve it in the coming months.”
Head of Metula Council David Azulai sharply criticised Netanyahu’s words at the press conference: “We, the citizens of Israel, have been in a bloody war for almost 3 years that started as a result of the policy of containment and the entry of Qatari money into Gaza.”
Azulai said: “We continue the war on all fronts with great successes of the people of Israel and the IDF – successes that have not been reflected on the political level,” calling on the Prime Minister to visit the area: “I invite the Prime Minister to see up close the destruction of the communities, of the population, the departure, and the residents who are in post-trauma.”
MEDIA COMMENTS:
⚡️ Yediot Ahronot reported that Netanyahu informed President Trump he didn’t consider his ‘occupying army obliged’ to comply with the Lebanon clause in the agreement with Iran, telling Trump that the Israeli army will remain in its current positions inside Lebanon.
⚡️ Walla was told by an Israeli official they were waiting for clarification from the political level about the agreement between America and Iran, adding that so far, there were no demands for an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, but there were many issues that needed clarification.
