Peloni: This was a very important clarification. I am glad to see Netanyahu make this stand. I only hope that he can hold up under US pressure in the coming days. As we move closer to the new deadline for the signing of the deal which has theoretically already been adopted, the pressure for him to capitulate to Washington’s demands will likely increase.
National security minister: Israel is ‘grateful to Trump, but not a banana republic’
| Published: June 15, 2026
IDF soldiers operating in Southern Lebanon area, June 11, 2026 Photo: IDF
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. President Donald Trump that Israel is not bound by the Lebanon clause of the Iran deal, which would restrict Israel’s actions against the Hezbollah terrorist organization.
Netanyahu spoke with Trump on Sunday night, shortly before the president announced the completion of the Iran deal, according to reports in Israeli media.
The call reportedly came during the Security Cabinet meeting, with Netanyahu stepping out to talk to President Trump, who informed him of the imminent announcement.
According to Israel’s Maariv, the two leaders also discussed the Israeli strike on Hezbollah in the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut, with Trump expressing frustration over the strike.
Maariv, citing senior sources, reported that Netanyahu told Trump Israel does not consider itself bound by the agreement’s Lebanon clause and that the IDF will remain in its current positions in southern Lebanon as a buffer zone, while continuing operations against Hezbollah threats. The sources did not say how Trump responded to Netanyahu’s stance, which was a key issue in the Iran talks.
President Trump’s announcement about the deal did not mention Lebanon, however, according to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the terms of the deal contain a clause calling for “the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”
“Following intensive talks, we are pleased to announce that the Peace Deal between the United States of America and Islamic Republic of Iran has been REACHED. Both sides have declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” Sharif wrote on social media.
At the same time, Netanyahu is seeking an urgent meeting with Trump after the upcoming G7 summit in Europe, according to CNN journalist Tal Shalev.
Netanyahu is under significant pressure from both coalition partners and the public to maintain calm on the northern front regarding Hezbollah.
On Sunday, Trump expressed frustration with Netanyahu, writing in a social media that Israel’s “attack on Beirut should not have happened, particularly on a special day when we are so close to a Peace Deal with Iran.”
Screenshot of Truth Social post by President Trump after IDF strike in Dahiyeh.
While stating that Israel “has the right to defend itself against threats,” Trump said Hezbollah drone and rocket attacks that Israel was responding to were “very small and meaningless, nobody was hurt, injured, or killed, and should not disrupt this important process.”
The strike had targeted “a headquarters of the Hezbollah terror organization in Beirut,” the IDF said.
However, just after the strike in Hezbollah’s stronghold in Dahiyeh, Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that “Israel will not tolerate fire directed at its territory.”
Katz affirmed Netanyahu’s stance in a statement on Monday, saying, “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I are leading a clear policy that states that the IDF will remain in the security zones in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza – indefinitely – in order to defend the border and Israeli communities from there against jihadist elements.”
“We oppose the IDF’s withdrawal from Lebanon – despite all the existing and future pressures,” Katz continued. “Prime Minister Netanyahu made this clear to U.S. President Trump and other senior American officials, and I also made this clear yesterday to U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.”
While Israeli officials appear concerned that the arrangements being made with Iran could limit the IDF’s operational freedom against Hezbollah in Lebanon, although this does not appear to be the case so far.
On Monday morning, an Israeli drone launched an airstrike on a vehicle believed to be carrying Hezbollah operatives, Lebanese media reported.
Iran is reportedly pressing for Israel to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, while Israel is demanding freedom of military action against Hezbollah as it pursues its own negotiations with the government of Lebanon.
With the agreement announced by Trump being only a Memorandum of Understanding, with actual negotiations on a nuclear deal and other issues still to come, Netanyahu is hoping to convince Trump to respect Israel’s security interests.
Israeli officials have also expressed concern that the agreement with Iran could ease economic pressure on Tehran, allowing it to strengthen regional proxies and rebuild its ballistic missile program ahead of further negotiations.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said in a statement that while Israel is grateful to President Trump, “the State of Israel is not a banana republic,” addressing reported details of the agreement and Israel’s concerns over its terms.
Ben Gvir wrote on ? on Monday morning: “Trump’s agreement does not bind us. Israel is not subject to the United States, and we are an independent and sovereign nation!”
He also called for additional retaliatory strikes in Dahiyeh if Hezbollah forces continue attacks against Israeli soldiers or communities.
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