CNN: US learns of Israel's preparation for possible strike on Iranian nuclear facilities
Kyiv • UNN
The US has received intelligence indicating that Israel is preparing to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, which could provoke a regional conflict in the Middle East.
The US has received new intelligence indicating that Israel is preparing to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, even as the Trump administration seeks a diplomatic deal with Tehran, citing several US officials familiar with the latest intelligence, CNN reported, writes UNN.
Details
Such a strike "would be a brazen break with President Donald Trump," US officials said. It could also spark a wider regional conflict in the Middle East - something the US has been trying to avoid since the war in Gaza escalated tensions that began in 2023.
Officials warn that it is unclear whether Israeli leaders have made a final decision and that there are in fact deep divisions within the US government about the likelihood that Israel will ultimately act. Whether and how Israel strikes depends on what it thinks of US negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear program, the newspaper writes.
But "the likelihood of an Israeli strike on an Iranian nuclear facility has increased significantly in recent months," said another person familiar with US intelligence on the matter. "And the prospect of a deal between the US and Iran struck by Trump that does not remove all Iranian uranium makes a strike more likely," he said.
The increased concern is driven not only by public and private reports from senior Israeli officials that they are considering such a move, but also by intercepted Israeli communications and observations of Israeli military movements that may indicate an imminent strike, multiple sources familiar with the intelligence said.
Among the military preparations the US has observed are the movement of aerial bombs and the completion of air exercises, two sources said.
But these same signs could simply be an attempt by Israel to put pressure on Iran to abandon key provisions of its nuclear program, signaling the consequences if it does not - underscoring the ever-changing complexities facing the White House, the paper writes.
The US is stepping up intelligence gathering to be prepared to provide assistance if Israeli leaders decide to strike, one senior US official told CNN. But a source familiar with the Trump administration's thinking told CNN that the US is unlikely to help Israel strike Iranian nuclear facilities at this time unless Tehran provokes them with a serious provocation.
Israel does not have the ability to destroy Iran's nuclear program without American assistance, including aerial refueling and bombs needed to penetrate facilities deep underground, which is also reflected in previous US intelligence reports, according to a source familiar with the matter.
An Israeli source told CNN that Israel would be prepared to take military action on its own if the US agrees to what the source called a "bad deal" with Iran that Israel cannot accept.
At the moment, US negotiations with Iran are stuck on the demand that Tehran not enrich uranium, a process that could allow the creation of weapons, but which is also necessary for the production of nuclear energy for civilian purposes.
