Shock mood: Israel discusses military solution to Iran's nuclear problem

Israel is considering the potential use of force against Iran. There is a broad consensus in the Knesset regarding decisive action against the Islamic Republic's nuclear program, its vice speaker, a member of the Our Home Israel party, Yevgeny Sova, told Izvestia. The Jewish state planned to strike Iran's nuclear facilities in May, but US President Donald Trump refused to support this operation, preferring to start negotiations with Tehran, media reported. The second round of the dialogue will be held on April 19. How Israel evaluates the negotiations between Washington and Tehran is in the Izvestia article.

Israel is considering a military scenario

Israel continues to study potential scenarios for resolving the Iranian nuclear issue, including military ones, Yevgeny Sova, deputy speaker of the Knesset and a member of the Our Home Israel party, told Izvestia.

— The Iranian nuclear program is an existential threat for us that must be eliminated. Over the past year, Iran has directly attacked our territory twice. Unfortunately, Israel missed the opportunity to launch a preemptive strike on Iran's nuclear facilities between the US election and President Trump's return to the White House. Today, this issue is back on the agenda," he said.

Regarding the adoption of unilateral measures by Israel in the event of a failure of diplomatic efforts, Evgeny Sova noted that this is the prerogative of the Government, which is responsible for such decisions.

"I can only assure you that there is a broad consensus in the Knesset regarding Israel's decisive actions against the Iranian nuclear program," the vice speaker concluded.

The second round of consultations between Iran and the United States is scheduled to take place on April 19. Negotiations may take place in Rome, the Axios portal reported earlier. On the same day, the Vice President of the United States, J. D. Vance, will also visit the Italian capital.

Israel considered the possibility of attacking Iran's nuclear infrastructure in May 2025, but at the last moment the operation was frozen due to the refusal of US President Donald Trump to participate in it. This was reported by the New York Times, referring to representatives of the American administration, military and diplomatic circles.

According to the newspaper, the main purpose of the planned attack was to paralyze the Iranian nuclear program for at least a year. The Israeli military and intelligence services prepared a strike plan in which the United States played a key role: providing cover from a possible retaliatory strike from Iran and participating in primary damage to a number of facilities.

The head of the Central command of the US Armed Forces (CENTCOM), Michael Kurilla, and National Security Adviser Michael Waltz discussed plans for US support for the Israeli attack, but the president had the final say. According to the newspaper's sources, during a personal meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week, Trump made it clear that Washington would not support a military scenario and was betting on resuming negotiations.

Negotiations on the Iran nuclear deal

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, has arrived in Iran amid preparations for the second round of negotiations between Tehran and Washington. On April 17, he met with the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Mohammad Eslami.

The day before, Grossi held talks with Abbas Araqchi. The Iranian Foreign Minister called the conversation with the head of the IAEA useful and stressed that the agency can play "a key role in the peaceful settlement of the nuclear issue in the coming months." At the same time, he called on the IAEA to "stay away from politics" in the face of pressure from states seeking, in his words, "to disrupt the ongoing negotiations."

Rafael Grossi, in turn, confirmed the importance of the meeting and noted that "cooperation with the IAEA is crucial to provide reliable guarantees of the peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear program." However, on the eve of the visit, Grossi made a more alarming statement in an interview with the French Le Monde, noting that Iran is "not far" from possessing nuclear weapons.

Evgeny Sova stressed that in addition to the nuclear program, Israel is also concerned about Tehran's support for armed groups: Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis in Yemen.

The first round of indirect talks between the United States and Iran has already been held in Oman on April 12. The American delegation was led by the President's special envoy for the Middle East, Steven Witkoff, and the Iranian delegation was led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi. The mediator between them was the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Oman, Badr bin Hamad bin Hamoud Al-Busaidi. Lyudmila Samarskaya, a researcher at the IMEMO Center for Middle Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, notes that Israel is rather wary of contacts between Iran and the United States.

— On the one hand, he does not consider any potential agreements to be an effective way to curb Iran's nuclear program. On the other hand, he would also not like to create tension in relations with the current American administration," the expert notes.

According to her, in the current situation, the Jewish state prefers wait-and-see tactics, hoping that the United States will take its interests into account when concluding agreements, while Israel tries to be prepared for any possible scenario. He can keep in mind the possibility of a forceful solution, although the probability of its implementation remains extremely low.

Atomic discharge: Iran and the United States discussed the solution of the nuclear problem in Oman

Tehran is capable of putting its program on a military track in a few weeks.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Tehran has expressed its readiness to return to the parameters of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), concluded in 2015. In particular, this implies a reduction in the level of uranium enrichment to 3.67% and a reduction in stocks of enriched material to 300 kg, provided sanctions pressure is eased and assets blocked in foreign accounts are unfrozen. However, today the country is enriching uranium to 60%, which makes it possible, if desired, to disperse it to the level necessary for weapons-grade uranium in a matter of weeks.

In 2018, President Trump withdrew from the JCPOA, calling the deal catastrophic. Today, seven years later, he is returning to the negotiating track. But despite the US refusal to participate in the strike, the topic of the potential use of force against Iran has not been removed from the Israeli agenda.