Jewish Insider: Israel concerned about the possibility of a “not good deal”

Again reflecting the basic difference between what Trump wants (a short war and an off ramp where he could declare victory) and what Israel wants (regime change, etc.)

From Jewish Insider‘s daily email:

“We will safeguard our vital interests under all circumstances,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday, hours after President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would suspend strikes on Iranian energy facilities to start negotiations.

In a Hebrew video statement, Netanyahu tried to reassure the Israeli public that the war would end in a way that made the previous three weeks — in which they, not Americans, ran with their children to bomb shelters multiple times a day — worth it. He vowed that Israel would be “continuing to strike in both Iran and Lebanon.”

“Earlier today, I spoke with our friend, President Trump,” Netanyahu said. “President Trump believes there is an opportunity to leverage the tremendous achievements we have reached alongside the U.S. military to realize the goals of the war through an agreement, an agreement that will safeguard our vital interests.”

Behind the scenes, however, the phone call was not enough to reassure Jerusalem that Washington had its interests in mind, and Netanyahu dispatched his closest advisor, Ron Dermer, to deter the Trump administration from reaching a “not good” deal, Israel’s Channel 12 reported.

Note the word choice: “not good.” If negotiations are genuine and this is not another mind game by the Trump administration, Israeli officials were not so optimistic in their briefings to Jewish Insider and Israeli media as to say there could be a good outcome from a deal that, de facto, would continue to recognize the mullahs’ regime — but perhaps a disaster could be averted.

Netanyahu used the term “vital interests” twice in his statement. The top interest on Dermer’s list is ensuring that the 440 kg of highly enriched uranium, the material that Iran boasted to White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff was enough for 11 bombs, would be removed from Iran. According to Ynet, Witkoff made this demand clear, raising his voice on the phone to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi before the latter’s first overture last week to return to the negotiating table.