Israel 'preparing strikes on nuclear sites' and could spark huge middle east war

ISRAEL IS BELIEVED TO BE PLANNING A STRIKE ON IRANIAN NUCLEAR FACILITIES AT THE SAME TIME AS DONALD TRUMP IS ATTEMPTING TO NEGOTIATE A PEACEFUL SOLUTION WITH TEHRAN 13:19, 21 May 2025Updated

14:33, 21 May 2025 Israel is reportedly making plans to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, according to intelligence obtained by the United States. Donald Trump has been seeking a

diplomatic deal with Tehran over its nuclear programme and so an attack by Israel would likely raise tensions between Israel and the US as well as risking a wider regional conflict in the

Middle East. The Trump administration has also been seeking to bring an end to the fighting in Gaza through negotiations in the region. New intelligence revealing proposals for a strike on

Iranian nuclear facilities has been reported by CNN, who have cited several US officials. But at the same time it emphasised no final decision had been made on an attack, and it is thought

this may depend on how well talks go between the US and Tehran over its nuclear programme. And there wasn’t positive news yesterday as Iran’s supreme leader pushed back against US criticism

of the country’s nuclear programme, saying Tehran won’t seek permission from anyone to enrich uranium and calling American statements “nonsense”. “They say, ‘We won’t allow Iran to enrich

uranium.’ That’s way out of line,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said during a memorial for late President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash last year. “No one in Iran is waiting for

their permission. The Islamic Republic has its own policies and direction — and it will stick to them.” Khamenei’s remarks came as indirect talks between Iran and the US reportedly continue,

though he expressed doubt about their outcome. “Yes, indirect negotiations were held during Raisi’s time too, just like now,” he said. “But they didn’t go anywhere — and we don’t expect

much from the current ones either. Who knows what will happen.” His comments reflect Tehran’s growing frustration with the stalled nuclear discussions, as well as the broader tensions that

have defined US-Iran relations in recent years. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told the state-run IRNA news agency that “no definitive decision has been made about the next round

of negotiations”, adding that “the Islamic Republic of Iran is reviewing the matter while considering the US side’s contradictory and constantly changing positions.” IRNA also reported that

Kazem Gharibabadi, the deputy foreign minister, said Tehran had received a proposal regarding the next round of indirect talks with Washington and was currently reviewing it. And so news

that Israel could launch an attack further complicates the situation. Another person familiar with US intelligence on the issue told CNN: “The chance of an Israeli strike on an Iranian

nuclear facility has gone up significantly in recent months. And the prospect of a Trump-negotiated US-Iran deal that doesn’t remove all of Iran’s uranium makes the chance of a strike more

likely.” Concern in the US comes not only from public and private messaging between senior Israeli officials that the country is considering such a move, but also from intercepted Israeli

communications and observations of Israeli military movements suggesting an imminent strike. Article continues below And among the military preparations the US has observed are the movement

of air munitions and the completion of an air exercise, two of the sources also told CNN, but there is a possibility that these manoeuvres have been designed as a threat to Iran over

potential consequences if a nuclear deal is not reached.