Israeli and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, April 24, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Israel seen as likely to attack Iran by midyear, Washington Post reports
Feb
12 (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence warns that Israel is likely to launch a
preemptive attack on Iran's nuclear program by midyear, the Washington
Post reported on Wednesday, citing multiple intelligence reports.
Such
an attack would set back Iran's nuclear program by weeks or months
while escalating tension in the region and risking a wider conflict,
according to multiple intelligence reports from the end of the Biden
administration and start of the Trump administration, the newspaper
reported.
Reuters
could not immediately confirm the report. The White House declined to
comment. The Post said the Israeli government, CIA, Defense Intelligence
Agency and 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 permit Iran to get a nuclear weapon."
"While
he prefers negotiating a resolution to American's long-standing issues
with the Iranian regime peacefully, he will not wait indefinitely if
Iran isn't willing to deal, and soon," Hughes told The Post.
The
most comprehensive of the intelligence reports came in early January
and was produced by the intelligence directorate of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff and the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Post said.
It warned that Israel was likely to attempt an attack on Iran's Fordow and Natanz nuclear facilities.
Current and former U.S. officials familiar with the intelligence said Israel has determined its bombing of Iran
in October degraded Iran's air defenses and left the country exposed to
a follow-on assault, said the Post, which did not name the officials.
Iran and Israel engaged in tit-for-tat strikes last year amid wider tensions over Israel's war in Gaza.
The
intelligence reports envisioned two potential strike options that each
would involve the United States providing aerial refueling support and
intelligence, the Post said.
Trump
told Fox News in an interview that aired on Monday he would prefer to
make a deal with Iran to prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon,
saying he also believed Iran would prefer a deal over an armed conflict.
"Everyone
thinks Israel, with our help or our approval, will go in and bomb the
hell out of them. I would prefer that not happen," Trump said.
The
United States under President Barack Obama and European allies
negotiated an agreement with Iran to halt its nuclear program, but Trump
in his first term in office, encouraged by Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu, withdrew the United States from the landmark accord
and ordered sanctions reimposed on Tehran in 2018.
Iran has since restarted its nuclear program and is enriching uranium, according to the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency.
Iran, Britain, France and Germany have met in Geneva to search for a way to resume nuclear talks, Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Iran's state TV in January.
Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by William Mallard