ISTANBUL
Israeli officials believe US President Donald Trump is serious about pursuing a potential deal with Iran, but remain skeptical about the chances of success, local media reported on Tuesday.
Israel “is convinced” that US terms would preserve “Israel’s interests,” Guy Azriel, a reporter for television channel 124NEWS said, citing discussions with Washington over the past 24 hours.
The outlet said discussions between the two sides would address “not only the nuclear program but also imposing limits on Iran’s missile program and the proxies.”
Despite this, Israeli officials expressed skepticism that an agreement would ultimately materialize as they “believe that President Trump is serious about his intention to try to advance a deal while at the same time remaining pessimistic about the chances of such a deal actually materializing.”
Officials declined to comment on whether Israel would expand military operations if negotiations fail or to win time to allow more time for US force deployments, including Marine units and adjustments following issues involving the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford.
Trump said Tuesday that Washington is in contact with the “right” Iranian interlocutors and that Tehran is eager to reach a deal to end the ongoing war.
“They want to make a deal so badly, you have no idea how badly they want to make a deal.”
He said a “number of people” are conducting the talks with Iran, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, his son-in-law.
The president said Iran is “talking sense,” and claimed that Tehran “agreed they will never have a nuclear weapon.”
“I think this thing's going to be settled very soon,” he said, regarding tensions with Iran.
CNN earlier reported that Washington had reached out to Tehran through various intermediaries in recent days to explore whether an agreement was possible, though nothing had yet risen to the level of formal negotiations.
The US and Israel have maintained airstrikes on Iran since Feb. 28, killing so far more than 1,340 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, along with Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets, causing casualties and damage to infrastructure while disrupting global markets and aviation.