Israel ‘preparing strikes on Iran without Trump's support'
21 May 2025, 14:45 | Updated: 21 May 2025, 15:39
Israel is reportedly preparing to strike nuclear facilities in Iran, despite Donald Trump’s attempts to ‘make a deal’ with the country.
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Bombing Iran would fly in the face of US president Donald Trump’s recent attempts to ‘make a deal’ with Tehran.
Israeli intelligence seen by US officials suggests the country is making preparations to launch air strikes at Iranian nuclear facilities, according to CNN.
While it’s not certain that Israel will eventually strike Iran, one official believes “the chance of an Israeli strike on an Iranian nuclear facility has gone up significantly in recent months.”
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“And the prospect of a Trump-negotiated US-Iran deal that doesn’t remove all of Iran’s uranium makes the chance of a strike more likely,” they added.
Donald Trump is still attempting to strike a deal with Iran, but only if the country ends its pursuit of nuclear weapons – something the country has repeatedly vowed not to do.
It is still unclear what Trump’s deal would include. The US could potentially lift sanctions on the Islamic Republic if it agrees to abandon its nuclear development program in return.
However, the US president has publicly threatened to take military action against Iran if his negotiations don’t work.
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These negotiations, Trump said, are the "friendly" course of action.
“The non-friendly is a violent course and I don’t want that… They have to get moving. They have to make that decision,” he warned.
But if a deal is reached between Washington and Tehran, and Israel chooses to attack Iran, Netanyahu would be at risk of alienating Trump, for which he depends on political and military support.
The intelligence seen by CNN includes public and private messaging from Israeli officials, but also intercepted internal Israeli communications and analysis of Israeli military movements.
“At the end of the day, the Israeli decision-making is going to be predicated on US policy determinations and actions, and what agreements President Trump does or does not come to with Iran,” said Jonathan Panikoff, a former senior middle east intelligence official.
It comes as prospects of a US-Iran deal have withered, with Iran’s top diplomat insisting Tehran will never stop enriching uranium.
The comments by Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi come after multiple rounds of talks between the two nations, including at an expert level over the details of a possible deal.
"I have said it before, and I repeat it again: uranium enrichment in Iran will continue - with or without an agreement," Mr Araghchi said on Wednesday.
He added that Iran is "currently reviewing whether to participate in the next round and when to take part" in talks with the US.