Israeli intelligence has identified a huge acceleration in Iran's preparations for the resumption of uranium enrichment, Channel 13 News reported on Friday.
At the same time, the report said, Iran is sending messages - mainly through European sources - that it is ready to begin renewed negotiations on the nuclear agreement.
The report comes ahead of a trilateral national security advisers’ summit that will take place in Jerusalem this month, involving the national security advisers of Israel, the US and Russia.
The summit, which is an unprecedented event, will focus on Syria as well as on Iran's activities in Syria, Lebanon and the rest of the region. The US has indicated it plans to stress to Russia during the summit that Iranian forces and their proxies have to leave Syria.
Friday’s report comes amid ongoing tensions between the US and Iran, which began when US President Donald Trump pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers last May. He has since imposed several rounds of crippling sanctions on Iran.
The Islamic Republic, angry over Trump’s moves, has threatened to begin uranium enrichment beyond previous levels if the remaining parties fail to uphold the 2015 nuclear deal.
Last month, an Iranian official said that the Islamic Republic has quadrupled its enrichment rate of low-enriched uranium and that it no longer accepts the restriction on uranium enrichment as it was written in the 2015 nuclear agreement.
Meanwhile, reported Channel 13 News, a senior intelligence source said that Israel had given the United States information that clearly proves that the Iranian Quds Force was behind the sabotage of ships in the United Arab Emirates about three weeks ago.
Israel’s Kan 11 News reported this week that Israel collected information identifying Iran as responsible for sabotaging vessels off the United Arab Emirates near the Strait of Hormuz last month.
Iran’s Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, on Wednesday denied that his country was behind the attack and accused the Mossad of “fabricating intelligence” about Iran’s involvement in the attack.
