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

Published 24 May, 2026 07:17pm 2 min read
US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. -- Reuters
US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. -- Reuters

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

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 Sunday, asking not to be named.

Expectations rose that a breakthrough might be imminent in the three-month-old war ​after 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 preemptive 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 program and the removal of all enriched ⁠uranium from ​its territory,” the source said, “and that he ​will not sign a final agreement without these conditions being met”.

Trump wrote on Truth Social that ​a call with Netanyahu had gone “very well”.

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