Following the signing of a peace agreement between Washington and Tehran, US President Donald Trump said the deal removes what he described as Israel’s greatest security threat.
Speaking to reporters in Évian-les-Bains,
France, during the G7 summit, Trump said he had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before signing the agreement and told him that the arrangement ensured protection for Israel against a potential Iranian nuclear strike.
“Look, think of what Israel is getting. They’re not going to be nuked,” the US President told reporters.
According to Trump, he reminded Netanyahu that Israel had secured the most significant objective it had sought.
“It’s very simple. I told Bibi, “Bibi, your biggest risk was that they’d drop a nuclear weapon into the middle of Israel. They’d only need one, and there would be no more Israel,” the US President said, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio standing to his side.
“Think of it, Bibi. You got the best, the most important thing that you were asking for is that,” Trump said, asserting that Israel was “very happy” with the deal.
‘Think of it, Bibi, you got the best, the most important thing that you were asking for’ — Trump
‘So, I think they’re happy’ pic.twitter.com/iSrwqzB2zg
— RT (@RT_com) June 17, 2026
Trump also renewed his criticism of Israel’s military actions in Lebanon and said Netanyahu needed to exercise greater restraint.
“Without the United States, there would be no Israel. Without me, there would be no Israel because no other president was willing to do what I did,” the US President said at the G7.
His remarks come amid continuing uncertainty over Israel’s operations in Lebanon. According to the Associated Press, the United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday aimed at ending tensions in West Asia. Under the framework, Iran would dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, while US-backed sanctions on Tehran would be lifted.
The agreement also opens a 60-day window for negotiations over the future of Iran’s nuclear programme. Another provision of the deal addresses Lebanon’s territorial integrity amid Israel’s conflict with Hezbollah and its strikes inside the country.
According to AP, this remains one of the more contentious aspects, with Israel insisting that it retains the right to defend itself and maintain a presence in parts of Lebanon. Iran, meanwhile, has repeatedly maintained that any peace agreement should halt fighting “on all fronts”, including in Lebanon.
Netanyahu, however, made it clear earlier this week that Israel would not scale back its campaign against Hezbollah or pull out of Lebanon.
“As long as I am the prime minister of Israel, it will not happen,” Netanyahu had said, asserting that Israel’s withdrawal was not part of the US-Iran deal.
The initial understanding reached between Washington and Tehran has also drawn criticism within Israel. Former Israeli prime minister and Netanyahu rival Ehud Barak blamed the current Israeli leadership for the situation.
“Israel is paying the price of Netanyahu’s hubris and blindness, and the price of the manipulations that he tried to pull on Trump,” AP cited former Israeli PM and Netanyahu rival Ehud Barak as saying in an interview with the country’s public broadcaster on Monday.
