May
20 (Reuters) - New intelligence obtained by the United States suggests
that Israel is making preparations to strike Iranian nuclear facilities,
CNN reported on Tuesday, citing multiple U.S. officials familiar with
the intelligence.
It
was not clear whether Israeli leaders have made a final decision and
there was disagreement within the U.S. government about whether the
Israelis would ultimately decide to carry out strikes, CNN added, citing
the officials.
Reuters could not immediately confirm the report, which contributed to a rise in oil prices
by more than 1% on concern such a strike might upset Iranian flows. The
National Security Council did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
The
Israeli Embassy in Washington, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office and
the Israeli military did not immediately respond to requests for
comment.
One
source familiar with the intelligence told CNN the likelihood of an
Israeli strike on an Iranian nuclear facility "has gone up significantly
in recent months."
The person added that the chance of a strike would be more likely if the U.S. reached a deal with Iran that did not remove all of the country's uranium, CNN added.
President Donald Trump's administration has been conducting negotiations with Iran aimed at achieving a diplomatic deal over its nuclear program.
The
new intelligence was based on the public and private communications
from senior Israeli officials as well as intercepted Israeli
communications and observations of Israeli military movements that could
suggest an imminent strike, CNN reported.
CNN
cited two sources saying that among the military preparations the U.S.
had observed were the movement of air munitions and the completion of an
air exercise.
Earlier on Tuesday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said U.S. demands that Tehran stop enriching uranium are "excessive and outrageous," state media reported, voicing doubts over whether talks on a new nuclear deal will succeed.
Reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones; Editing by Jasper Ward and Stephen Coates, Philippa Fletcher