While Washington and Tehran prepare for the sixth round of talks, reports have mentioned that Israel is preparing to strike Iran soon, and the operational planning is in the final stages. The latest escalation follows a 40-minute conversation between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Logistical operations, including the movement of aerial munitions and operational planning, are actively underway, said reports quoting Israeli media Channel 12. Trump's call with Netanyahu came just after the U.S. president and his entire top foreign policy team huddled in Camp David for hours on Sunday to discuss U.S. strategy on Iran.
After the phone call, Netanyahu convened an emergency security meeting with senior ministers and military officials to review scenarios related to Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The discussions reportedly focused on the implications of talks, the report added.
Though US intelligence sources have corroborated that Israel has intensified its planning for a potential attack, there is still no clarity about whether or not the final decision has been taken.
Though another round of talks has been scheduled, speculations are that the White House has received indications that Iran would say "no" to the clause against Uranium enrichment but will express interest in continuing the negotiations.
While Israel is also preparing to defend itself against Iran if it retaliates, International Atomic Energy Agency director Rafael Grossi said in an interview with Israel's i24 News that Iran would move ahead with a bomb plan if an attack happens.
"The Iranians told me that if their nuclear facilities were attacked, they would seek to develop a nuclear weapon. The Iranian nuclear programme operates on a vast and complex scale, and when I say ‘complex,’ I mean it. Many of these facilities are heavily fortified, and to damage them would require massive destructive force. But such an action could have other consequences, including that Iran might pursue a nuclear weapon or withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)," Grossi said.
Meanwhile, Iran continues to issue threats that it possesses information regarding Israel's nuclear programme. The commander-in-chief of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami, said: "Access to a huge amount of sensitive strategic information and documents from Israel in the nuclear, military, security, and infrastructure fields is equivalent to 'Al-Aqsa Flood 2' on the intelligence front."
"This sensitive information will make efforts to accelerate the pace of Israel's destruction more effective, and will also make Iranian missile targets more accurate," he added.
