The armed forces of Israel are preparing a strike on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, despite the ongoing talks between Washington and Tehran, CNN reported citing US administration sources.
"The chance of an Israeli strike on an Iranian nuclear facility has gone up significantly in recent months," said a source familiar with US intelligence on the issue. "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."
It was unclear to the sources whether the Israeli authorities have already made the final decision to attack. US intelligence data does not clearly support the Jewish state’s preparations.
Among indicators of Israel’s preparations for a strike are the movement of air munitions and the completion of an air exercise, sources said.
At the same time, the report says that it is possible that Israel is demonstrating force to pressure Iran to make serious concessions regarding its nuclear program.
Meanwhile, the US and Iran, with Oman acting as mediator, have conducted four rounds of talks aimed at resolving disagreements over Iran's nuclear activities. The initial meeting took place on April 12 in Muscat, Oman, followed by a session on April 19 in Rome. The third and fourth rounds occurred on April 26 and May 11, again in Muscat. Iran was represented by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, while the United States' chief delegate was Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff. According to Lawrence Norman of The Wall Street Journal, sources suggest that a fifth round of talks may be held in Rome from on May 24-25.