Why the Islamabad MOU Serves Israel |
The dominant reaction in Israel to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Iran has been fury. Across the political spectrum, the deal brokered by Pakistan to end the 2026 war has been branded a “Bad Deal” and a national catastrophe, with critics noting that Israel was excluded from the talks entirely and that the agreement falls far short of the goals Prime Minister Netanyahu set when the fighting began. That anger is understandable, but it is also shortsighted. The single most consequential feature of the MOU, and the reason it ultimately serves Israeli interests, is precisely what Israelis are mourning: it is a strictly bilateral arrangement that decouples Israel’s freedom of action from the diplomatic and military commitments of the United States.
A Deal That Binds Washington, Not Jerusalem
Read closely, the fourteen points of the memorandum obligate the United States and Iran, and no one else. The text commits “the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran, along with their allies” to a permanent cessation of hostilities, but the specific, enforceable terms—lifting the naval blockade, withdrawing US forces from areas near Iran, restoring traffic through the Strait of Hormuz,........