World Leaders Welcome US-Iran MOU, While Israel Remains Deeply Concerned

Several countries and international officials welcomed Monday’s announced memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran, presenting it as a major diplomatic step toward ending the war and restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

Austria, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Japan, Qatar, Britain, the European Council, the United Nations, and Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri all issued statements praising the agreement or the mediation efforts behind it.

Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger called the deal a major step toward peace, saying it was good for the region, Europe, and Austria. She added that the agreement still needed to be signed and that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz must be restored.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed the MOU and said the United Kingdom was ready to support the technical talks now expected to begin. He also stressed that Britain’s position remains clear: Iran must never obtain a nuclear weapon.

Saudi Arabia said the agreement would begin a 60-day process of detailed negotiations toward a permanent deal, while Qatar, Pakistan, and other mediators were praised for their role in the talks.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the deal a critical step toward peacefully resolving the conflict. UN human rights chief Volker Turk also urged restraint and said he hoped the agreement would bring relief to the Lebanese people.

But while much of the international community is celebrating, Israel is not happy. Jerusalem has long warned that Iran uses diplomacy to buy time while continuing to fund, arm, and direct terror proxies across the Middle East, including Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other Iran-backed forces.

For Israel, the central question is not whether world leaders welcome another agreement. The question is whether Iran’s nuclear program, missile threat, and regional terror network are actually dismantled — or simply repackaged under diplomatic language.

Israel has made clear that it will defend itself against the Iranian regime and its proxies, with or without international applause.