U.S. intelligence agencies are warning that Israel is likely to launch a “preemptive strike” on Iran’s nuclear program by mid-year, the Washington Post reported, citing multiple intelligence reports.
Such an attack would set back Iran’s nuclear program by weeks or months, while escalating tensions in the region and risking a broader conflict, according to multiple intelligence reports from the late Biden and early Trump administrations, the newspaper reported.
Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. The White House declined to comment. The Post reported that the Israeli government, the CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment.
Brian Hughes, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, told the Post that President Donald Trump “will not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.”
“While he prefers to peacefully negotiate a resolution to America’s long-standing disputes with the Iranian regime, he will not wait indefinitely if Iran is not willing to make a deal, and soon,” Hughes told The Post.
The most extensive intelligence reports came in early January, compiled by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the military intelligence agency, The Post reported.
They warned that Israel would likely try to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities at Fordow and Natanz.
Current and former U.S. officials familiar with the intelligence said Israel had determined that its bombing of Iran in October had degraded Iranian air defenses and left the country vulnerable to a follow-on attack, the Post reported, without naming the officials.
Iran and Israel began attacking each other last year amid broader tensions over Israel’s war in Gaza.
Intelligence reports have suggested two potential attack options, each of which would include U.S. support for aerial refueling and intelligence, the Post reported.
Trump said in an interview with Fox News that he would prefer to make a deal with Iran to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons, saying he also believes Iran would prefer a deal to an armed conflict.
“Everybody thinks that Israel, with our help or our approval, is going to come in and bomb them like hell. I would rather not have that happen,” Trump said.
The United States under President Barack Obama and its European allies negotiated a deal with Iran to curb its nuclear program, but Trump, emboldened by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his first term, withdrew the United States from the landmark deal and ordered the reimposition of sanctions on Tehran in 2018.
Iran has since restarted its nuclear program and is enriching uranium, according to the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency.
Iran, Britain, France and Germany met in Geneva to find a way to resume nuclear talks, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Iranian state TV in January.
