The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is threatening to upend negotiations between the US and Iran by potentially attacking Iranian nuclear facilities.
The report said that the threat from Israel led to a recent tense phone call between Netanyahu and President Trump and a series of meetings between senior US and Israeli officials in recent days.
Trump was asked by reporters on Wednesday if he warned Netanyahu against attacking Iran during a phone call last week, and said, “Well, I’d like to be honest. Yes, I did.”
“It’s not a warning. I said I don’t think it’s appropriate. We were having very good discussions with Iran, and I don’t think it’s appropriate right now,” the president said.
“If we can settle it with a very strong document, inspections and no trust – I don’t trust anybody – so no trust,” Trump said. He added that he believed the US and Iran are “very close to a solution” but warned that it could “change at any moment.”
Trump has been threatening to bomb Iran if a deal isn’t reached, even though US intelligence agencies have recently reaffirmed there’s no evidence Iran is building a nuclear weapon.
The US has been demanding that Iran eliminate its nuclear enrichment program altogether as part of any deal, a condition that’s a non-starter for Tehran. While the two sides appear to be far apart, reports suggest that an interim deal could be reached to buy time for further negotiations to reach a long-term agreement.
Netanyahu has also been demanding that any deal must dismantle Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, and it’s unlikely he would be happy with any sort of interim agreement. The Times report said Israel could launch an attack on Iran on its own, even though it’s unlikely Israel could do any significant damage to Iranian nuclear facilities without US support.
US officials are concerned that Israel could strike Iran with little notice, and a unilateral attack could still get the US involved. The Times report said that Israeli officials “close to Mr. Netanyahu believe the US would have no choice but to assist Israel militarily if Iran counterattacked.”
There are signs that the US and Israel could be considering a covert attack on Iranian nuclear facilities. CIA Director John Ratcliffe recently visited Israel to discuss covert options, according to the report. Israel has a history of conducting attacks on Iranian soil, including assassinations and sabotage of nuclear facilities.
