Israel is deeply concerned that the US is closing in on a “bad deal” with Iran that will not meet Israel’s stated essential conditions for ensuring the regime cannot attain nuclear weapons, Israeli television reported Thursday. Channel 12 news reported that Israel believes the negotiations ordered by President Donald Trump with Iran, led by envoy Steve Witkoff, are “very, very advanced,” and that the US is not sharing enough information with Israel on key specific issues. This, despite an ostensibly deep ongoing dialogue between Witkoff and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, the report said.
The TV report, which quoted unnamed diplomatic, political and security sources, said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz and a senior IDF officer who cannot be named held an urgent consultation this week on the issue. It said that during their telephone conversation on Tuesday, Netanyahu told Trump that he “does not rule out a diplomatic approach” but only on condition that the resulting deal would “leave no trace” of Iran’s nuclear program. Trump confirmed that this is the American intention, the report said, and that the 60-day deadline he had set for a negotiated resolution remains in force, Channel 12 added.
While this exchange eased Israel’s concerns “a little,” the TV report said, the security establishment remains very concerned about where the negotiations are headed. On the one hand, the US leadership is publicly declaring that Iran will not get nuclear weapons, but in contrast, “real progress” is being made toward a nuclear deal in a way that is “deeply disturbing,” the report cited unnamed experts as saying. The report came as Netanyahu’s office said that during a meeting Thursday with a bipartisan delegation of US Congress members, the premier discussed the importance of shared discussion on dismantling Iran’s nuclear program. (Read more)
