Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to shape the outcome of the final Iran agreement by relying on right-leaning media personalities and supportive US senators to increase pressure on President Donald Trump, CNN reports, citing an Israeli source.
The source told CNN that Netanyahu has remained doubtful about Iran’s intentions throughout the negotiations with the United States, believing Tehran was never prepared to negotiate in good faith.
He reportedly still expects that no definitive agreement will be reached and that Iran will ultimately refuse meaningful limits on its nuclear program.
With Trump having signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran and initiating a 60-day negotiation window, Netanyahu is now said to be amplifying his messaging through conservative media figures, including pro-Israel commentator Mark Levin.
On Wednesday, Levin criticised the deal, saying it “doesn’t make any sense” and describing the proposed reconstruction fund for Iran as a “slush fund.”
CNN has contacted the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office for a response.
Netanyahu is also expected to rely on pro-Israel members of the U.S. Senate to influence Trump’s position.
However, even some previously hawkish lawmakers, such as Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, have shifted their tone, with Graham recently stating that the Iran agreement “will be beneficial to the United States.”
According to the source, Netanyahu has also communicated to Trump that Israel does not consider itself bound by the agreement, which calls for an “immediate and permanent termination” of the war in Lebanon. Israel, meanwhile, has already reduced the scale of its operations there under U.S. pressure.
By Bakhtiyar Abbasov
