Amid US fears of an Israeli strike on Iran, Netanyahu's office denies plans to disrupt talks with strike on nuclear sites

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened to blow up the nuclear talks between Iran and the United States by striking the Islamic Republic’s main nuclear enrichment sites, The New York Times reported on Wednesday morning. 

The news site also claimed that Netanyahu’s push for a military strike was behind the “tense phone call” between Netanyahu and Trump last week, and the current meetings between Israeli representatives and senior administration officials. 

However, on Wednesday morning, Netanyahu’s office denied the NYT report, calling it “fake news.” 

On Sunday, President Trump told reporters that he might have “some good news” regarding the Iran talks. 

"We had some very good talks with Iran and let's see what happens, but I think we could have some good news on the Iran front," Trump told reporters shortly before boarding Air Force One.   

Trump has promised good results for some time, but each round of talks has revealed little true progress. 

Likewise, the fifth round of talks, which ended on Friday do not appear to have produced significant results. 

Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said, the talks ended “with some but not conclusive progress.” 

The fifth round of Iran US talks have concluded today in Rome with some but not conclusive progress. We hope to clarify the remaining issues in the coming days, to allow us to proceed towards the common goal of reaching a sustainable and honourable agreement.

— Badr Albusaidi - بدر البوسعيدي (@badralbusaidi) May 23, 2025

A Trump administration official told media on Friday that “We made further progress, but there is still work to be done.” 

Iran’s Foreign Minister, and lead negotiator in the talks, Abbas Araghchi, downplayed reports of progress, saying “the negotiations are too complicated to be resolved in two or three meetings.” 

As few details have been released from the talks, assessing the progress has been difficult. The Times said that sources familiar with the negotiations assess that the talks at best produced a declaration of common principles. 

The sticking point appears to be Iran’s insistence on its right to enrichment against the U.S. demand that it give up uranium enrichment as part of a deal. 

Before leaving for the talks in Rome, Araghchi posted a note to 𝕏, saying a demand for zero enrichment would guarantee no deal was reached. 

Set to travel to Rome for 5th round of indirect talks with the United States.

Figuring out the path to a deal is not rocket science:

Zero nuclear weapons = we DO have a deal.
Zero enrichment = we do NOT have a deal.

Time to decide...

— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) May 22, 2025

While Israel is not a participant in the talks, the country has a vested interest in the negotiations since Iranian nuclear weapons would pose an existential threat to the Jewish nation. 

There have been consistent warnings over the past few months of Israeli preparation for a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities and the expected Iranian retaliation. Prime Minister Netanyahu has indicated that Israel will attack unilaterally if it feels the need. 

The Times report claimed American officials are concerned that Israel could prepare for and mount an attack on Iran in as little as seven hours, giving the U.S. almost no time to attempt to dissuade Netanyahu. 

While Trump has threatened military action as a possibility if the talks fail, he has also been clear on his preference for a political resolution. Israel fears a bad deal could result from the talks, achieving something similar to the 2015 Joint Cooperative Plan of Action (JCPOA), negotiated by the Obama administration. 

The New York Times report claimed that the Israelis fear Trump’s desire for a deal could lead to significant compromises which would make the agreement functionally the same as the JCPOA. 

At the same time, Homeland Security Secretary Kristy Noem said on Monday that President Trump would make a decision in a matter of days, not weeks, months, or years.