Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli has branded the diplomatic alignment of Pakistan, Türkiye and Qatar a “new Axis of Evil”, leading a fierce public attack by senior Israeli cabinet ministers against the newly-announced peace framework between Washington and Tehran.
Expressing particular alarm over the central diplomatic role played by Islamabad, Doha and Ankara, Chikli warned that the coalition’s involvement signals a “dangerous geopolitical shift” for Tel Aviv.
The statements come as domestic backlash intensifies ongoing political turmoil for Israeli Prime Minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu, whose administration faces biting criticism for being completely excluded and “humiliated” by US President Donald Trump during negotiations.
The diplomatic breakthrough follows months of intensive back-channel diplomacy, where Washington and Tehran initially reached a temporary truce on April 8 through Pakistani mediation. The historic Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, which was signed on Thursday, effectively activated an immediate ceasefire, lifting the maritime blockade on Iran and initiating a 60-day phase of complex technical negotiations.
Souring at the diplomatic breakthrough, Chikli downplayed the significance of Iran’s internal recovery, focusing instead on the regional architecture that facilitated the truce.
Echoing this fierce opposition, hardline Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared the Pakistan-mediated accord “bad for Israel and the entire free world”, insisting that Tel Aviv would eventually have to pursue unilateral campaigns to eliminate regional threats.
While Ankara, Doha and Islamabad have long maintained that a stable diplomatic resolution is vital for broader South Asian and Middle Eastern security, the public vitriol from Israeli officials underscores deep structural anxieties within Tel Aviv as the US-Iran diplomatic track moves toward formal discussions in Geneva.
