Israeli national security expert Dan Schueftan said on Monday that President Donald Trump’s memorandum of understanding with Iran “proves nobody in the Western world is willing to fight. If we need to get permission from countries like Iran in order to use international waterways then we are in very deep trouble.” 

The one exception, according to Schueftan, is Israel, which he called the “only one power in the Middle East that can contain the radicals … the only real power in this region that is committed to fighting the radicals and will fight the radicals.”  

Schueftan, the chairman of the National Security Studies Center at the University of Haifa, made the comments while appearing on British journalist Jonathan Sacerdoti’s YouTube show. 

Trump “built up the spirit of Hamas, Hezbollah, the Iranians, the Houthis,” Schueftan asserted. The president’s proposal that the terrorist groups disarm was “ridiculous,” continued Schueftan, who said the agreement with Iran has surpassed former President Barack Obama’s “high bar” for bad diplomatic deals with Iran — undermining Israel and emboldening its enemies in the process.

Schueftan’s comments came shortly after the U.S. and Iran reached a tentative agreement to end the recent fighting and enter into talks. The White House shared in a call with reporters on Wednesday the official text of the memorandum of understanding, to establish a ceasefire with Iran, permanently end Israel’s war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, reopen the Strait of Hormuz while ending the U.S. naval blockade and kickstart a 60-day negotiation period on the future of Iran’s nuclear program and the possibility of lifting U.S. sanctions on Tehran.

On Wednesday morning, Trump said that the U.S. would resume military activity against Iran if he did not like the MOU. 

The deal could lead to confrontation between Israel and the U.S., Schueftan said. “If Israel responds in Lebanon, we have a major problem with the president of the United States,” he said. 

“I don’t believe this will remain because Israel cannot afford tension with the only friend it has on the international arena … this is the worst that can happen from an Israeli point of view,” he continued. “But it will not stop Israel from doing what is vital for the existence of Israel.” 

Schueftan further asserted that Trump betrayed and “abandoned” the Iranian people by failing to deliver on his promise that “help is on the way.” 

“Israel will survive it, but they were reduced,” Schueftan said. He noted achievements in destroying Iran’s nuclear capabilities over the past year and policies adopted after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks.

At the same time, he said, “the challenge now is more serious, therefore Israeli actions will have to be more serious, and I don’t believe Trump will go as far as trying to break Israel.” 

From an American perspective, Schueftan continued, such a move would be a strategic error; the U.S., he said, needs to shift its focus away from the Middle East and toward countering China. “Israel should be in a position where it can substitute the United States. When the U.S. leaves the Middle East, you can’t leave the Middle East alone,” said Schueftan.