Former IDF chief calls US withdrawal from Iran nuclear deal ‘a strategic mistake’

Former army chief Gadi Eisenkot criticized the US decision in 2018 to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, calling it a “strategic mistake” in an interview published Thursday.

According to Eisenkot, top Israeli security officials were kept in the dark ahead of then-US president Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the 2015 accord, which curbed Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. Eisenkot commanded the Israel Defense Forces when the deal was signed.

Eisenkot said the US pullout from the deal removed “certain shackles” on Iran, granting it “legitimacy” to push forward its nuclear program in violation of the pact.