'It'd be suicidal': Will Israel strike Iran’s nuclear sites without US support?
With Iran's supreme leader skeptical of reaching a nuclear deal with the United States, former Israeli officials doubt the wisdom of Israel striking Iranian facilities without US buy-in.
TEL AVIV — Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei this week criticized the United States for the "excessive and outrageous" negotiating demand that Iran stop enriching uranium. On the same day, CNN reported that new intelligence obtained by the United States suggested accelerated Israeli preparations for a "lightning attack" on Iranian nuclear facilities in the event that negotiations on a deal fail or yield a "bad agreement."
In a television interview, Khamenei said, "I don't think nuclear talks with the US will bring results. I don't know what will happen," adding that Iran does not need anyone’s permission to enrich uranium. His comments were in marked contrast to US President Donald Trump’s positive pronouncements about an alleged “sort of” deal with Iran after four rounds of negotiations between the two sides.
Might the CNN leak have been the Americans threatening Iran with action by Israel given that the Trump administration appears to be scaling back the US presence in the region?
A credible military option?
