The United States has withheld the text of the Pakistan-mediated memorandum of understanding from Israel ahead of its formal signing in Geneva, according to media reports and Israeli journalists, further straining relations between the leadership of both countries who have clashed over Iran peace deal and Lebanon fighting.
"The United States denied Israel's request to view the newly agreed-upon Memorandum of Understanding before the signing ceremony, expected to be held in Switzerland later this week," The Jerusalem Post reported on Tuesday.
Guy Azriel, the diplomatic corespondent of Israeli broadcaster i24NEWS, also confirmed the report.
"I can now confirm that Israel formally requested access to the Iran MoU and was denied. A remarkable and highly unusual development between close allies on an issue of such critical national security importance," Azriel wrote on social media.
The Memorandum of Understanding, electronically signed by US President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, ended the US naval blockade and Iran's Strait of Hormuz restrictions in exchange for Iran's pledge against nuclear weapons.
It launches 60 days of talks on Iran's nuclear programme and de-escalation, with sanctions relief.
Oil prices dropped below $78 a barrel as markets expected freer flows, while European leaders praised the step and Iran declared the war over — though Israel raised concerns over access to the text.
Netanyahu-Trump clashes
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Trump have repeatedly clashed over Israel's refusal to constrain its pursuit of Hezbollah in Lebanon, where a cessation of hostilities is a key Iranian demand.
At the start of the month, Trump described Netanyahu as "f——-g crazy" in an angry phone call, ordering him not to strike Beirut while the US was seeking a deal with Iran.
Axios and other outlets reported that Trump had an expletive-filled phone call with Netanyahu around June 1–2 after Israel escalated bombardment in Lebanon. Multiple US officials familiar with the call described Trump yelling and cursing: "What the f—- are you doing?" and also accusing Netanyahu of ingratitude: "You’re fucking crazy. You’d be in prison if it weren’t for me. I’m saving your ass. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this."
Trump later confirmed in interviews that he was "perturbed" by Israel’s "constantly fighting with Lebanon" and had "let him know" his displeasure, while still saying he likes Netanyahu personally.
Netanyahu called off attacks that day, but struck Beirut's southern suburbs a week later, provoking Iranian missile strikes on Israel and a public rebuke of both sides from Trump.
Hours before the US and Iran announced their interim deal on Monday, Israel hit the Lebanese capital again while Trump described Hezbollah retaliation as "small and meaningless" not deserving Israeli attacks at the sensitive time.
At a press conference in West Jerusalem late on Monday, Netanyahu acknowledged that he and Trump have sometimes had their differences.
"He is the president of the United States, I am the prime minister of Israel. We many times see eye-to-eye and there are times when we see eye-to-eye less so. I am in charge of Israel's security interests," Netanyahu said.
Trump ups criticism
On Tuesday, at the G7 meeting in France, Trump made unusually direct public remarks about Netanyahu, saying, "I’ve had a great relationship with Bibi, but now Bibi has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon."
"I’m not happy with the way Israel has handled themselves with Lebanon and with Hezbollah. They should have been able to do the job faster.”
Trump criticised excessive Israeli force, saying Israel has been fighting Hezbollah "too long and too many people are being killed... You don’t have to knock down an apartment house every time you’re looking for somebody because there’s a lot of people in those apartment houses – and they’re not all Hezbollah."
Netanyahu, facing autumn elections he is projected to lose, may be more willing to defy Trump as he contends with an Israeli public that opinion polls show has grown sceptical of the US president's commitment to Israel's security.
The memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran is expected to be signed on Friday in Switzerland. While precise terms were not immediately known, Iran and mediator Pakistan said the pact called for a permanent halt to hostilities on all fronts, including in Lebanon.
Netanyahu has threatened that Israel's invasion of southern Lebanon will not cease. Analysts say this position could sabotage the agreed deal between US and Iran.
On Monday, during a press conference, Netanyahu explicitly said Israel "does not know the terms" of the US-Iran deal. He added that he "does not yet know what is written in the deal," noting that Israel was excluded from the negotiations, is not a signatory, and is therefore not bound by it.
