Israel is concerned and skeptical about the success of the negotiations between Iran and the United States
A source told CNN that Israel’s assessment indicates that without deterrent military action, Iran could have between 1,800 and 2,000 ballistic missiles in a matter of weeks or months.
The source explained that Israel remains skeptical of the success of the nascent negotiations between the United States and Iran, but is pressing to ensure that its interests are protected, as well as to preserve Israel’s freedom of military action under any possible agreement and in anticipation of the collapse of the US-Iran negotiations.
“Israel is concerned about Iran’s progress in restoring its ballistic missile stockpiles and capabilities to what they were before the 12-day war,” he said.
He noted that Netanyahu intends to provide Trump with new intelligence on Iran’s military capabilities and discuss possible military options against Iran with the US president during his visit to Washington this week.
Before leaving for Washington, Netanyahu said Iran was the first and foremost issue on the agenda of his meeting with Trump on Wednesday, the seventh meeting between the two leaders since the start of Trump’s second term.
“During this visit, we will discuss a series of issues: Gaza, the region, but first and foremost, negotiations with Iran,” Netanyahu said as he boarded his plane.
“I’ll present to the president our views on the basic principles of negotiations, which we consider vital not only for Israel, but for all those who desire peace and security in the Middle East,” he added.
The highly anticipated meeting follows a series of high-level meetings in recent weeks, with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and Intelligence Division Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder visiting the Pentagon in Washington last month, while presidential envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Netanyahu and top security officials in Jerusalem last week.
Israel has sought to pressure the United States to ensure that any deal with Iran would include Tehran abandoning its stockpile of enriched uranium, halting enrichment altogether, imposing restrictions on its ballistic missile program, and ending its support for regional allies.
The list matched a set of previous US demands for broader discussions on Iran’s military capabilities and regional activities, but Iran has insisted its willing to discuss only the nuclear issue.
Over the weekend, Trump hinted that he might accept a deal that excludes other issues, and when a reporter on the US presidential plane asked him if a deal with Tehran was acceptable if it was limited to the nuclear file, he replied: “Yes, that would be acceptable, but the basic and final condition is that there are no nuclear weapons”.
