Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will discuss possible military options against Iran with US President Donald Trump during a visit to Washington this week, two Israeli officials said, as Israel prepares for a contingency in the event US-Iran talks break down.
One of the sources said Israel remains skeptical that early-stage negotiations between the United States and Iran will be successful, but is pushing to ensure that any potential deal not only preserves Israel’s freedom of military action but also protects its interests.
One of the sources said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to present President Trump with new information about Iran’s military capabilities.
“Israel is concerned about Iran’s progress in restoring its ballistic missile stockpile and capabilities to pre-12-day war conditions,” the official said, adding that Israel’s assessment is that without action, Iran could have 1,800 to 2,000 ballistic missiles within weeks or months.
CNN has not been able to verify that claim. Iranian officials have repeatedly said their government does not want war but is ready for it.
Before leaving for Washington, Prime Minister Netanyahu said Iran would be a “high priority” topic for his meeting with President Trump on Wednesday, the seventh meeting between the two leaders since the start of Trump’s second term.
“During this trip we will discuss a range of issues, including Gaza and the region, but first and foremost negotiations with Iran,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said as he boarded the plane. “I will present our views to the president on the essential principles of the negotiations, principles that we see as important not just for Israel but for everyone around the world who wants peace and security in the Middle East.”
The next meeting follows a series of high-level exchanges in recent weeks. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder visited the Pentagon in Washington last month, and presidential envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and top security officials in Jerusalem last week.
Israel wants the U.S. to make a deal with Iran that includes giving up its enriched uranium stockpile, halting enriched uranium altogether, putting limits on its ballistic missile program and ending support for regional proxies. The list matched a series of previous U.S. demands for a broader discussion of Iran’s military capabilities and regional activities.
But Iran insists it will only discuss the nuclear file. President Trump suggested over the weekend that he might accept a deal that ignores other issues. Asked by a reporter on Air Force One if he would accept a deal with Iran if it were just for nuclear weapons, he said, “Yes, I would accept that, but one thing is clear: No nuclear weapons.”
For the Israeli prime minister, the worst-case scenario is a “narrow nuclear deal in which the United States compromises only by limiting enrichment.” Danny Sitrinowitz, an Iran expert at the Israel National Security Institute, said in an article in Israel Hayom newspaper.
“From Prime Minister Netanyahu’s perspective, the two preferred options are either a military defeat of Iran by American power or what he views as a conceptual defeat: an agreement so comprehensive as to effectively dismantle the regime’s ability to defend itself,” he wrote.
Prime Minister Netanyahu blasted the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) negotiated with Iran under former President Barack Obama, outspokenly claiming that the deal left much of Iran’s military intact and lifted restrictions on uranium enrichment for the first time in 15 years. Such vocal criticism would become even more difficult if President Trump signs a similar deal that limits the weaponization of Iran’s nuclear program while allowing domestic uranium enrichment. Uranium is a nuclear fuel that, when refined to a high level, can be used to make bombs.
In June, a surprise Israeli attack on Iran’s military and nuclear facilities derailed a series of ongoing but faltering negotiations between the United States and Iran. The 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran ended with President Trump calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt a new wave of attacks.
Israeli officials said Netanyahu’s visit to Washington was originally scheduled for February 18, the day before the peace committee meeting. It is unclear whether Netanyahu will attend the Peace Council meeting to discuss taking the Gaza ceasefire to the next stage, after bilateral talks were brought forward last weekend at the request of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Prime Minister Netanyahu did not attend the inaugural meeting of President Trump’s Peace Commission in Davos last month.
President Trump is pushing for Phase 2 of the ceasefire in Gaza, announcing that the Council and the Palestinian Board of Engineers will run Gaza. After recovering the remains of the last Israeli hostage in January, Israel last week opened the Rafah crossing for limited traffic between Gaza and Egypt. But Prime Minister Netanyahu continues to stress the need for Hamas to disarm before reconstruction can begin in Gaza.
