Israel denies plans for imminent attack on Iranian nuclear facilities
Recent western media reports said US President Donald Trump rejected an Israeli plan for a joint attack on Iran
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar denied recent reports that Tel Aviv has been planning a military attack against the Iranian nuclear program in an interview with The Telegraph published on 19 April.
“I am a member of the security cabinet, and all the intimate forums, and I don’t remember such a decision. I don’t think that such a decision was taken. But Israel is committed to the objective of preventing Iran from having nuclear weapons. If that objective can be achieved by a diplomatic path, it is accepted,” Saar said.
His comments were a response to a question about a New York Times (NYT) report from last week, which cited sources as saying that US President Donald Trump rejected an Israeli proposal for a joint attack against Iranian nuclear facilities, opting instead to pursue negotiations. Trump responded by saying he was in no rush for an attack, but did not reject the proposal.
“Iran always mocked its international obligations. I’m not excluding the option that they will try to get some partial agreements, to avoid getting to the necessary solution. We are speaking directly with the Americans. We’re also speaking with European friends,” Saar told The Telegraph.
“I think we all have the same objective. Iran is in a position of relative weakness, and this should be used to achieve the objective, and not to let Iran escape for the sake of convenience, to waste time until the circumstances change,” he added. Israel has recently signaled that it would only accept a deal including the complete dismantlement of all of Iran's nuclear facilities and equipment.
According to the NYT report, Israel’s attack proposal included options for a number of scenarios including one which involved Israeli commandos carrying out a ground operation against Iranian nuclear facilities with backing from US fighter jets. While this particular option would have had to wait until October, the report says, other options included an attack as early as May.
Some US officials were more open to the idea than others, it said.
A day later, anonymous Israeli officials toldReuters that the Israeli government “has not ruled out” launching an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities in the near future.
“Israeli officials now believe that their military could instead launch a limited strike on Iran that would require less U.S. support. Such an attack would be significantly smaller than those Israel initially proposed,” the report states.
In February, the Washington Post had reported that Israel is looking to “seize the moment” to carry out an attack against Iranian nuclear facilities if diplomatic efforts with Tehran fail, and is ready to act “with or without” the backing of the US.
A second round of nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington took place in Rome on 19 April.
Both sides agreed to establish working groups to draft a “general framework” for a potential new nuclear deal, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
Technical delegations from Tehran and Washington are due to meet in the Omani capital next Wednesday for detailed discussions regarding issues such as uranium enrichment.
Trump had repeatedly threatened Iran with a bombing campaign in the weeks leading up to the negotiations.
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