JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel on Thursday rejected a report in the New York Times that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been threatening to disrupt talks on a nuclear deal between the United States and Iran by striking Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facilities.
Netanyahu’s office issued a statement in response to the article which said simply: “Fake news”.
Citing officials briefed on the situation, the New York Times said that Israeli officials were concerned that U.S. President Donald Trump was so eager to reach a deal with Iran that he would allow Tehran to keep its nuclear enrichment facilities, a red line for Israel.
It said Israel was particularly concerned about the possibility of any interim deal that would allow Iran to maintain its nuclear facilities for months or even years while a final agreement was reached.
The report said U.S. officials were concerned that Israel could decide to strike Iran with little warning, and said U.S. intelligence estimated that Israel could mount an attack on Iran in as little as seven hours.
It added that Israeli officials had warned their U.S. counterparts that Netanyahu could order a strike on Iran even if a successful diplomatic agreement is reached.
The newspaper said that Netanyahu’s minister of strategic affairs Ron Dermer and David Barnea, head of the foreign intelligence agency Mossad, met Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff in Rome on Friday.
The two then travelled to Washington for a meeting on Monday with CIA director John Ratcliffe before Dermer met Witkoff again on Tuesday.
One of the main sticking points in the talks between U.S. and Iranian officials has been the U.S. insistence that Iran must give up its nuclear enrichment facilities, a demand that Iran rejects.
On Monday, U.S. Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem said she had had a “very candid conversation” with Netanyahu on the negotiations with Iran.
She said she had told the Israeli prime minister that Trump had asked her to convey “how important it is that we stay united and let this process play out”.
Trump bypassed Israel on his trip to the Middle East this month and has made policy announcements that have shaken Israel’s assumptions about its relations with the U.S.
Netanyahu has dismissed speculation about a falling out with the U.S. administration, while Trump has also brushed off any suggestion of a break.
(Reporting by James Mackenzie; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
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