Israeli officials said on Thursday that there cannot be a good nuclear deal reached between the United States and Iran because of the Iranian refusal to dismantle its nuclear program. The officials said Iran's nuclear ambitions are part of the nation's ethos. In their view, only if U.S. President Donald Trump insists on the terms he has expressed publicly, there may be a chance for "a good deal."
Israel informed the United States of its red lines and the terms that would be considered acceptable for a good deal to be reached. The officials said that Trump was heading toward a deal and that after Iran was weakened by the IDF's successes in the war against Hezbollah, the path for a deal became possible.
3 View gallery
Ali Khamenei, Donald Trump
(Photo: Solkov Vladislav / Shutterstock, Mohammed Yassin / Reuters)
3 View gallery
Iranian missiles on display during a military parade in Tehran in April
(Photo: Atta Kenare / AFP)
Israel was preparing for every scenario, the officials said. "Israel will not allow Iran to possess nuclear weapons," they said, adding that all top security officials believe an attack on Iran's nuclear sites is possible and necessary.
Trump said on Wednesday that he told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel should not strike Iran while negotiations for a new deal were underway. The New York Times reported that American intelligence officials were concerned that an Israeli attack would take place without prior or sufficient warning to Washington. Netanyahu denied the report.
Fox News reported on Wednesday that an intelligence report in Austria claimed Iran was actively continuing with its nuclear weapons program, contrary to American assessments.
In March, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told the Senate Intelligence Committee that the U.S. continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon. She said Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has not authorized the nuclear weapons program that he suspended in 2003.
<< Get the Ynetnews app on your smartphone: Google Play: https://bit.ly/4eJ37pE | Apple App Store: https://bit.ly/3ZL7iNv >>
"In order to assert and enforce its regional political power ambitions, the Islamic Republic of Iran is striving for comprehensive rearmament, with nuclear weapons to make the regime immune to attack and to expand and consolidate its dominance in the Middle East and beyond," Austria's domestic intelligence service said in its report.
"The Iranian nuclear weapons development program is well advanced, and Iran possesses a growing arsenal of ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads over long distances."