After Iran deal, Israel's Netanyahu calls for preserving 'vital relationship' with US

JERUSALEM - Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu underscored the importance of maintaining close ties with the United States on June 18, saying Washington had stood by its ally during the Middle East war.

“The struggle is not yet over, and further challenges lie ahead. They require calm judgement, steadfast defence of Israel’s security interests, and at the same time the preservation of our vital relationship with our American friends, who stood shoulder to shoulder with us in this fight – a partnership we deeply appreciate,” Netanyahu said at a function, according to a statement issued by his office.

Netanyahu has still not commented directly on the deal, though some of his coalition members dismissed it even before the text’s details were released on June 17.

His remarks on June 18 come amid fraying ties between the US and Israel over the Iran agreement, which Israeli analysts have also sharply criticised, arguing that it effectively locks in Iranian gains while deferring the issue most sensitive to Israel: its security.

The details released on June 17 call for “an immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon”.

While the agreement addresses the dilution of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile, it makes no mention of how to address Iran’s missile programme – the dismantling of which had been a key Israeli objective during the war.

Hours before the agreement was announced, US President Donald Trump excoriated Netanyahu for launching attacks in Lebanon that threatened to derail it.

“He’s a very difficult guy,” Trump said of Netanyahu, “and to be honest with you, he should be very thankful to us for doing this. Because if Iran had a nuclear weapon, Israel wouldn’t be around for two hours.”

The US news website Axios reported that Trump understood Hezbollah had been firing rockets and drones at Israel and that Israel needed to defend itself, but that he felt Netanyahu had, in recent days, been escalating disproportionately.

Citing a US official, Axios also reported that Trump was troubled by the scale of civilian casualties in Lebanon and objected to Israel levelling entire buildings to eliminate a single Hezbollah commander.

Days before the deal was finalised, Netanyahu had warned that Israeli forces would strike Beirut’s southern suburb of Dahiyeh, a Hezbollah stronghold, if the group fired rockets into Israeli territory.

On June 18, he reiterated that Israeli forces would remain in southern Lebanon.

“We will restore security and prosperity to the communities of northern Israel,” he said.

“That requires maintaining the security zone in southern Lebanon, and it requires that we not withdraw from it for as long as Israel’s security needs demand it.” AFP