Trump gets his deal, but Netanyahu gets a nightmare

President Trump surely believes his memorandum of understanding for a ceasefire with Iran will usher in an era of Middle East peace and, more importantly, close the book on a growing political vulnerability. 

And although polling suggests the deal has seemingly bandaged a key political issue for Trump ahead of the midterms, this deal presents a political nightmare for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Indeed, whereas the war had long been unpopular among Americans, Israeli opinion is the inverse. Israeli opinion polling conducted at the height of the fighting, when Israelis were constantly under fire, found that 79 percent of Israelis supported the war. Recent polling has confirmed similar sentiment.

Now, with voters in both countries soon heading to their respective ballot boxes — Israel also has an election this fall — Netanyahu must reckon with being forced to end a war that Israelis overwhelmingly want to continue. 

And he must do so while balancing his responsibility to protect Israelis without angering Trump and Vice President JD Vance, both of whom have aimed increasingly hostile, even threatening rhetoric at Israeli officials.

To be sure, much of the concern stems from the fact that the deal allows Iran to dictate Israel’s freedom of action in Lebanon. Tehran is effectively using Israeli self-defense strikes as a reason to cause headaches for the U.S.

Additionally, the deal frontloads benefits to Iran, effectively surrendering America’s leverage. Sanctions relief immediately allowing Iran to sell oil, unfreezing Iranian funds, ending a suffocating U.S. blockade and a $300 billion “reconstruction fund” allow the regime to refill........

© The Hill