Iran Deal Is ‘Largely Negotiated’ — But Republican Hawks Are Revolting and Israel Was Frozen Out

President Trump announced Saturday that a US-Iran memorandum of understanding has been "largely negotiated" — a 60-day ceasefire framework that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, allow Iran to sell oil freely, and defer nuclear program talks to a later stage. Republican hawks including Sens. Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham, and Roger Wicker erupted online, calling the emerging terms a "disastrous mistake" and a "nightmare for Israel." A critical new obstacle emerged Sunday: Netanyahu told Trump the Lebanon clause — requiring an end to Israeli military operations in Lebanon as part of the deal — is "a very big problem" for Israel. Meanwhile, a bombshell NYT report confirmed that Israel was almost entirely cut out of the US-Iran negotiations, learning details through regional diplomatic back-channels rather than from Washington.

• 60-day MOU framework: Hormuz reopens, Iran can sell oil, sanctions partially lifted — nuclear program talks deferred to a separate negotiation phase.
• Israel excluded: Two Israeli defense officials told NYT that the US "almost entirely shut Israel out" of talks; Jerusalem learning details through Gulf intermediaries.
• Lebanon clause is the new flashpoint: Draft MOU reportedly requires Israel to end Lebanon operations — Netanyahu called it "a very big problem" in his call with Trump Sunday.
• Republican hawks revolt: Cruz, Graham, Wicker, Tillis, and Pompeo all publicly condemned the emerging terms as a victory for the Iranian regime that leaves enrichment capacity and terror proxies intact.
• Iran's contradictions: Iranian media says Hormuz sovereignty won't change; Iranian negotiators deny committing to surrender enriched uranium stockpile.

The US-Iran deal dynamic has shifted from "will there be a deal" to "what does Israel do if there is one" — and the Lebanon clause makes that question acute. If finalized, the MOU would constrain Israel's freedom of action in Lebanon precisely as Hezbollah is reconstituting; if Netanyahu kills the deal via the Lebanon objection, it ruptures the US-Israel relationship at a sensitive juncture. The Republican revolt is the clearest signal yet that Trump's Iran diplomacy is fracturing his hawkish coalition — a political variable that matters for ICAN's congressional relationships heading into the 2026 midterms.

A recently captured IRGC-trained Iraqi militant, Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, allegedly plotted to assassinate Ivanka Trump and conducted surveillance of her Florida home as revenge for the U.S. killing of Qasem Soleimani. Al-Saadi is accused of coordinating nearly 20 attacks targeting Jewish and Western sites across the United States and Europe. Authorities say he made a "pledge" to kill Ivanka and had a blueprint of her residence. The case is the latest in a documented pattern of IRGC terror plotting against American Jewish and political targets on U.S. soil.

• Al-Saadi, 32, had Ivanka Trump's Florida home blueprint and made an assassination pledge tied to Soleimani revenge.
• Accused of coordinating nearly 20 attacks targeting Jewish and Western sites in the US and Europe.
• Case fits a pattern: Germany charged Iran-backed operatives last week for a separate plot to kill German Jewish community leaders.

The IRGC's documented expansion of assassination targeting to include American Jewish community infrastructure — synagogues, community centers, Jewish-affiliated officials — represents an escalation from the earlier pattern of targeting Israeli intelligence assets. The Al-Saadi case and the Germany charges in the same week reveal a coordinated operational tempo that predates and runs parallel to the ceasefire negotiations, signaling that any diplomatic agreement with Iran does not automatically translate to a halt in its terror infrastructure.

Dr. Jacob Agronin testified before Congress that his medical union endorses BDS, excludes Israeli doctors from collaboration, and forces medical trainees to fund what he characterized as an antisemitic agenda through mandatory dues. The testimony came during a House hearing examining antisemitism in healthcare institutions. Agronin's testimony follows a pattern of professional union environments — from academia to medicine — where BDS has become embedded in institutional policy, creating compelled association with anti-Israel political positions for Jewish and Israeli-affiliated professionals.

• Dr. Agronin testified his union formally endorses BDS and has moved to exclude Israeli doctors from professional collaboration.
• Medical trainees are required to fund the union, creating compelled financial support for BDS advocacy.
• Testimony came during a House subcommittee hearing on antisemitism in healthcare — one of a series of congressional examinations of professional associations.

The healthcare union BDS testimony marks a new front in the institutional capture campaign that has already hit academia, teacher unions, and bar associations — the argument that professional licensing bodies can compel members to fund political positions that directly target Israeli and Jewish professionals is both a civil liberties and a legislative question. It also surfaces a potential campaign target: federal contracting or accreditation leverage over healthcare unions that formally adopt BDS as policy.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani confirmed he will not attend the Celebrate Israel Parade on May 31 — breaking a tradition maintained by every New York City mayor since 1965. The New York Times reported a widening disconnect between Mamdani and pro-Israel Jewish leadership, while the NY Daily News editorial board called him "unwanted" at the parade and urged him to stay away. Mamdani's office has cited policy disagreements over Israel's military operations; Jewish organizational leaders say the snub is a deliberate political signal to his progressive base.

• Mamdani would be the first NYC mayor to skip the Israel Day Parade in 61 years, since the parade's founding.
• NYT reports the disconnect between Mamdani and pro-Israel Jewish leaders is widening, with multiple specific incidents cited.
• NY Daily News: "Mamdani isn't wanted and should stay away" — editorial board takes rare position calling him unwelcome.

The Israel Day Parade snub is the most visible single signal Mamdani has sent since taking office — it has no operational consequence but carries enormous symbolic weight for the 50,000+ marchers and the Jewish donors and institutional leaders who treat the parade as a civic loyalty test. The fact that the NYT is now framing this as a systemic disconnect, not a single incident, indicates this is a sustained posture rather than a political miscalculation.