Iran and the United States continued to slide rapidly toward military conflict at the weekend, as hopes faded for a diplomatic solution to their standoff over Tehran’s nuclear program and regional actions, officials on both sides and diplomats across the Gulf and Europe said. Israel and Iran’s Gulf neighbors now consider a conflict to be more likely than a settlement, the sources said, with Washington building up one of its biggest military deployments in the region since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Israel’s government believes Tehran and Washington are at an impasse and is making preparations for possible joint military action with the United States, though no decision has been made yet on whether to carry out such an operation, said a source familiar with the planning. It would be the second time the US and Israel have attacked Iran in less than a year, following US and Israeli airstrikes against military and nuclear facilities last June.
Regional officials say oil-producing Gulf countries are preparing for a possible military confrontation that they fear could spin out of control and destabilize the Middle East. Two Israeli officials told Reuters they believe the gaps between Washington and Tehran are unbridgeable and that the chances of a near‑term military escalation are high. Some regional officials said Tehran was dangerously miscalculating by holding out for concessions, with US President Donald Trump boxed in by his own military buildup — unable to scale it back without losing face if there is no firm commitment from Iran to abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions.
“Both sides are sticking to their guns,” said Alan Eyre, a former US diplomat and Iran specialist, adding that nothing meaningful can emerge “unless the US and Iran walk back from their red lines — which I don’t think they will. “What Trump can’t do is assemble all this military, and then come back with a ‘so‑so’ deal and pull out the military. I think he thinks he’ll lose face,” he said. “If he attacks, it’s going to get ugly quickly.” Two rounds of Iran-US talks have stalled on core issues, from uranium enrichment to missiles and sanctions relief. (Read More)
