WASHINGTON, May 22. /TASS/. Israel is preparing to swiftly strike Iranian nuclear facilities if talks between Washington and Tehran break down, the Axios portal reported, citing sources.
According to the sources, the Israeli military thinks that they will not have much time to attack Iran if the talks on Iran’s nuclear program fail, so they are getting prepared to strike fast. However, the Axios source "declined to say why the military believes a strike would be less effective later."
Discussions about a potential strike began several days ago when the Israeli intelligence doubted the successful outcome of the US-Iranian consultations, the source said, adding that this will not be one-off strike but a week-long military campaign.
"Bibi (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - TASS) is waiting for the nuclear talks to collapse and for the moment Trump will be disappointed about the negotiations and open to giving him the go ahead," the portal quoted an Israeli source. Meanwhile an American official told the portal that the Trump administration is afraid that Netanyahu may make this decision without agreeing it with Washington.
CNN reported earlier, citing US administration sources, that the Israeli army is preparing a strike on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, despite the ongoing talks between Washington and Tehran. 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.
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.