‘Not a banana republic’: Israel’s first reaction to US-Iran peace deal, warns on Lebanon operations, says this about Trump’s agreement

The United States and Iran agreed to an “immediate and permanent” end to military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon. The move points to an apparent conclusion of more than three months of war in the Middle East. However, Israeli far-right Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Monday delivered his first public reaction to the peace deal between Washington and Tehran.

Denouncing the US-Iran peace deal to end war, including in Lebanon, Ben Gvir said that Israel would continue to make independent security decisions. “Trump’s agreement does not bind us… It does not safeguard our security,” he said on his Telegram channel, in what marked the first response from an Israeli official to the agreement.

Israeli officials’ remarks came after an initial agreement between the US and Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and extend a fragile ceasefire in the ongoing war in West Asia. The deal, which is likely to be formally signed on June 19 in Switzerland, aims to stop military operations on multiple fronts while leaving room for negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear programme and other outstanding issues.

In a lengthy post on X, Ben-Gvir expressed his appreciation for America and Trump but argued that Israel must retain full freedom of action in addressing threats from Hezbollah and other Iran-backed groups. “We emphasize: We love the USA and are grateful to President Trump. And yet, the State of Israel is not a banana republic,” he wrote.

Ben-Gvir further framed his opposition to the peace deal as a lesson from Israel’s past dealings with foreign diplomacy. According to him, earlier decisions to yield to international pressure had harmed the country’s security interests. “Every time we succumbed to international pressure at the expense of Israel’s security, we paid a blood price with interest,” he said, citing the 2006 Lebanon deal, the Oslo Accords, and the restraint periods in Gaza as examples. His remarks came as information about the US-Iran memorandum of understanding remained limited.