Updated Israeli intelligence assessments passed to the political leadership in recent days say Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mujtaba Khamenei, does not want a final agreement on the nuclear issue. According to the information, Tehran approved the framework deal only to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and secure an urgent economic boost for the regime, not to reach real compromise on the nuclear file.
Security officials warned the political echelon over the past day that Iran will likely drag out the talks. One official said, “We assess that Iran will drag out the time, and the 60 days of negotiations will become much more.” Another senior security source told News 12 he fears Tehran will use the quiet around the talks to create irreversible facts on the ground, adding, “One should expect nothing else from a revenge-seeking regime.” He said it would be very surprising if Iran did not use every effort and trick “to shorten its breakout time to nuclear capability, under the cover of the talks.”
The concern is not limited to the pace of the negotiations, but also to the written memorandum of understanding. Earlier today, Israel formally asked the U.S. administration to see the text of the memorandum itself. The document is presumably known in detail to the Iranians, as well as to the Qatari and Pakistani mediators, but the Israeli request was completely denied.
An Israeli official said the relationship between Jerusalem and Washington is in a worrying low point. “There is a serious trust problem,” he said. “The Americans fear we will brief the media and leak the memorandum’s details, and something on the way to final signing will go wrong.” The refusal to share critical strategic information with Israel, Washington’s closest Middle East ally, underscores how far apart the two sides are on the Iran issue and how much influence Jerusalem has lost over the emerging deal.
