Hours after Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, hit out at Trump administration's nonsensical nuclear demands, reports indicate Israel is preparing for an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.
Khamenei said negotiations with the US was unlikely to result in a nuclear deal, after Washington's lead negotiator and Trump's envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, in an interview said the US would not allow "even 1% of enrichment capability" to exist in Iran.
Khamenei reiterated Tehran's 'red line,' and promised not to abandon its uranium enrichment programme. The Supreme Leader warned that any attempt to stop Iran from enriching uranium would be Americas 'biggest mistake'.
Khamenei questioned if US was even serious about cracking a deal amid Trump's threats of military action.
Iran and the US have conducted four rounds of talks, the negotiations mostly focused on limiting Iran's uranium enrichment in exchange for sanctions relief.
The talks were initiated by Trump, after he abandoned the Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPA), during his first term. The billionaire President is seeking what he calls a bigger, better deal, that would put more stringent restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program.
Interestingly, Iran already has a fatwa, a religious decree, that prohibits Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. But the US is nervous about the Islamic Republic enriching its uranium up to 60%, very close to weapons grade.
With Trump insisting that Iran must completely destroy its nuclear facilities, Tehran has put the 5th round of Oman-backed talks on hold.
Soon after the decision, CNN put out a report citing US intelligence sources. According to the report, the probability of Israel attacking Iran has significantly increased over the past few months.
The intelligence was reportedly based on public and private communications from Israeli officials and Israeli military movements.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been vocal in his opposition to the US-Iran talks. He has publicly threatened to attack Tehran's nuclear facilities with or without America's support.
According to US intelligence, Israel was more likely to attack Iran if US agreed to a deal that did not require Tehran destroy its civil nuclear programme.
But the report also said that Israel lacked the ability to take out Iran's nuclear programme without America's help.
Given Trump's promise to end the war in the middle East, he's unlikely to start one with Iran. But, will Trump be able to keep Netanyahu's ambitions in check, and bring Iran back to the table?
