Transcript: Michael Leiter on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," July 12, 2026

The pursuing is the transcript of an interrogation with Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Leiter that aired connected "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" connected July 12, 2026.

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MARGARET BRENNAN: We're joined present by Israel's ambassador to the United States, Dr. Michael Leiter. Good to person you backmost here.

ISRAELI AMBASSADOR MICHAEL LEITER: Good morning. Your Prime Minister this greeting has been honoring Senator Lindsey Graham. I cognize helium was a fierce advocator for Israel, and helium besides was truly pushing for normalization of relations betwixt Israel and Saudi Arabia. Just 3 weeks ago, connected this program, helium made that pitch. I wonderment if you deliberation determination is simply a mode to transportation connected his bequest done continuing that benignant of diplomatic work.

AMB. LEITER: Absolutely, Lindsey was a beloved friend. My archetypal time successful Washington, January 27 2025, the archetypal telephone telephone I got erstwhile I landed connected my spot successful the embassy was from Lindsey Graham. He said, "can we person meal tonight?" And we've been talking astir normalization successful the Middle East for the past twelvemonth and a half. And helium was not lone a fierce advocator of defeating this Iranian regime, helium was besides a fierce advocator of what would hap afterwards. And helium saw, helium had a imaginativeness for bid successful the Middle East. And absolutely, we person to enactment toward that end, but it truly is going to hap if his archetypal portion of that imaginativeness is fulfilled, and that's that Iran is nary longer a determination hegemon menacing its neighbors.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, 3 weeks ago, Lindsey Graham said connected this program, 2026. That was his vow that normalization would happen. So we'll person to travel that.

AMB. LEITER: We inactive person immoderate time.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We inactive person immoderate time. Let maine inquire you astir the different important improvement overnight with Iran. The effort to revive this truce betwixt the United States and Iran intelligibly has conscionable collapsed. This was conscionable an effort to person a intermission to reopen the- the Strait of Hormuz. Frankly, it was beauteous constricted successful scope. But past the IRGC fired connected a commercialized vessel. The United States has resumed bombing. For the moment, Iran has not fired connected Israel. Israel has not fired connected Iran. Does Israel mean to enactment connected the sidelines? How bash we spot this struggle astatine this point?

AMB. LEITER: President Trump has been consistent, I think, passim this confrontation. If talks volition work, if diplomacy tin work, past he's successful favour of the diplomatic route. But erstwhile it doesn't work, you person to spell backmost to subject and kinetic activity. When the United States signed the MOU with Iran conscionable a fewer weeks ago, determination was 1 item, conscionable 1 thing, that the Iranians had to fulfill, and that was keeping the straits open. And that they've wholly ignored. So they forced the U.S. to spell backmost into kinetic activity. We're a partner, we're an ally. If the United States calls connected america to rejoin kinetic enactment against Iran, we're going to beryllium determination for the United States.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But astatine the moment, the U.S. is asking you to wait.

AMB. LEITER: I- I didn't accidental that. I said the United States has not asked america to articulation the effort. But if that petition volition travel in, we're going to beryllium there.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, that MOU, erstwhile it was signed by the president successful Versailles and past by the vice president, your authorities was opposed to this. You made nary mistake that Prime Minister Netanyahu saw large flaws successful this deal. When you saw what happened, was determination a infinitesimal of "I told you so" here?

AMB. LEITER:  No, that's not the quality of our relationship. We explicit our opinion. We saw flaws, but we besides expressed anticipation that it would work. If, astatine the extremity of the day, 60 days aft the MOU, we've got a denuclearized Iran, we've got Iran not producing ballistic missiles--

MARGARET BRENNAN: --That is the astir assertive timeline successful history--

AMB. LEITER: --And not supporting their proxies. Well, if it would beryllium 90 days oregon 120 days, if we person Iran that's denuclearized, not gathering ballistic missiles, not supporting proxies astir the region, conscionable not being a menacing, mayhem-spreading regime, past we volition person accomplished it without kinetic activity. We person doubts astir the anticipation of that really working, but each we bash is explicit our opinion.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, precise wide astir the precise archetypal fewer lines of the MOU that mentioned Lebanon, and that's wherever I privation to spell next, due to the fact that the U.S. has been trying to broker these talks betwixt the Israeli authorities and the Lebanese authorities to fundamentally enactment unneurotic against Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran. Under the model that was reached past month, Israel pledged to retreat from areas of confederate Lebanon. Do you inactive mean to bash that? What does that timeline look like?

AMB. LEITER: Well, I'm really starring the negotiations connected Israel's behalf with Lebanon, truthful I cognize a happening oregon 2 astir the trilateral agreement. And what the statement with Lebanon does is wholly region Iran from the paradigm. Iran is not to beryllium progressive successful Lebanon. They person nary concern successful Lebanon. Hezbollah has nary concern successful Lebanon. As a substance of fact, Israel and Lebanon are connected the aforesaid page. We privation Hezbollah retired for our information and for their sovereignty. We tin retreat the infinitesimal that Hezbollah is dismantled. If Hezbollah is not dismantled, past we person to enactment successful our information portion due to the fact that we're not going to spell backmost to a concern wherever our citizens are going to beryllium threatened by an Iranian proxy firing missiles and gathering tunnels truthful they tin attack, similar Hamas did October 7.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, that's antithetic from what the U.S. State Department has lined up here, which is specifically 2 aviator zones that Israel is expected to retreat from, and CENTCOM would oversee. Is that--

AMB. LEITER: --They're aviator zones.

MARGARET BRENNAN: When does that happen? [inaud] withdrawal.

AMB. LEITER: Well, we're preparing it close now, but the full thought of the aviator has said the aviator zone--

MARGARET BRENNAN: Because Lebanon has said that's delayed.

AMB. LEITER: No, it's not delayed. We're moving unneurotic with CENTCOM and the Lebanese Armed Forces to make the conditions truthful that we tin really determination into a concern wherever the aviator zones are receptive to Lebanese Armed Forces. If they're not going to beryllium receptive, if Hezbollah is going to enactment there, we haven't accomplished anything, and that's wherefore they're called aviator zones. If it works, past we proceed the withdrawal. If it doesn't work, past we enactment wherever we are.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Are you inactive going to Rome to behaviour these talks, and volition those aviator portion withdrawals hap anytime soon?

AMB. LEITER: I surely anticipation they're planned for the adjacent fewer weeks. We're moving connected that unneurotic with CENTCOM. Am I inactive going to Rome? That's going to beryllium a question regarding the the Senator Graham funeral. But surely the talks volition proceed successful Rome.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, earlier I fto you go, determination were 2 high-profile incidents I privation to rapidly interaction connected here. One, a CNN unit attacked successful the West Bank by what they accidental were 4 settlers. There was besides an incidental with Ro Khanna, the congressman from California, who said helium was his vehicles helium was successful were stopped by Israeli settlers, and past erstwhile the IDF showed up, they were connected the broadside of the settlers, not him. He said "[i]t's not a bully thought to detain longshot statesmanlike candidates". It was a informing to your government. Do you deliberation your authorities needs to apologize to some him and those CNN journalists?

AMB. LEITER: Any unit is to beryllium condemned. No excuses, nary explanations. Okay. So if CNN unit was attacked, that needs to beryllium condemned, and I'm doing truthful close now. And we request to bash a amended job.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You are condemning it [inaud]--

AMB. LEITER: --If if if it was really took spot arsenic they've reported it, perfectly condemning it. We request to rein successful unit connected each sides. Now, successful presumption of Ro Khanna, we reached retired to him erstwhile we heard helium was going to Israel, the Israeli embassy present successful Washington. As each congressmen do, they coordinate their travel with the Israeli government. We suggested helium sojourn with- with survivors of the October 7 massacre. That helium sojourn the borders, truthful helium understands the, the issues that we person successful our borders and truthful on. He ignored that and helium decided to coordinate his travel not with Israel, but with Palestinian activists and with J Street, which is simply a anti-government, anti-Israeli authorities advocacy radical present successful Washington. So you cognize helium coordinated--

MARGARET BRENNAN: --It's a Jewish lobby group--

AMB. LEITER: --Well, it's--

MARGARET BRENNAN: --That is supportive of a antithetic way for Israel.

AMB. LEITER: Yeah, yeah. I- I play tennis erstwhile a year. That doesn't marque maine a tennis player. The information that they telephone themselves a Jewish enactment is- is irrelevant. They're- they're- an advocacy radical against the authorities of Israel. That has to beryllium clear.

MARGARET BRENNAN: The existent government, Netanyahu government.

AMB. LEITER: Yes. Yes--

MARGARET BRENNAN: --That's what you mean, the authorities you enactment for.

AMB. LEITER: And Congressman Khanna, determination hasn't been nary concealed astir his antipathy towards the authorities of Israel arsenic well. So possibly if helium would person coordinated the travel and past you cognize to person this incidental connected Wednesday and hold to merchandise it connected Saturday, possibly this had much thing to bash with his enactment of- of Graham Platner beforehand and the difficulties helium had with that, and trying to displacement the absorption to thing else. Perhaps I'm asking a question.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, we did perceive from Congressman Khanna, who said that determination was an alert to the embassy connected his behalf, and that they asked for the news--

AMB. LEITER: --There was not, determination was not--

MARGARET BRENNAN: --to beryllium held until helium had near the country.--

AMB. LEITER: There was a question. There was not an alert. There was a question astir visas. That's all. But erstwhile we requested that helium coordinate the travel with us, helium rejected that by fundamentally staying silent. So that's unfortunate. This full incidental is unfortunate. And if- if somebody, it's benignant of absorbing that idiosyncratic wants to state a statesmanlike tally by moving disconnected to Israel? Not strange?

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, we're going to person to permission it there, sir. There's truthful overmuch much to speech astir with you, but I'm retired of time. Thank you for having me. And we'll beryllium close backmost with a batch more. Face the Nation. Stay with us.