The US has obtained new intelligence suggesting that Israel is making preparations to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, even as the Trump administration has been pursuing a diplomatic deal with Tehran, CNN reported citing multiple US officials familiar with the latest intelligence.
Such a strike would be a brazen break with President Donald Trump, US officials told CNN. It could also risk tipping off a broader regional conflict in the Middle East — something the US has sought to avoid since the war in Gaza inflamed tensions beginning in 2023, according to CNN.
Officials told CNN it’s not clear that Israeli leaders have made a final decision, and that in fact, there is deep disagreement within the US government about the likelihood that Israel will ultimately act. Whether and how Israel strikes will likely depend on what it thinks of the US negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear program, according to CNN.
But “the chance of an Israeli strike on an Iranian nuclear facility has gone up significantly in recent months,” another person familiar with US intelligence on the issue told CNN. “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.”
