Israel’s Worried Trump Might Be Repeating the Same Iran Mistakes as Obama
Israeli officials are getting nervous about the way U.S. President Donald Trump is handling nuclear talks with Iran. After a recent report said Trump blocked an Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear sites and with Iran acting pretty pleased about the current negotiations — some in Israel feel the U.S. isn’t taking their concerns seriously.
On Friday, top Israeli security chiefs Mossad Director David Barnea and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer met with Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, in Paris to lay out their worries ahead of more talks in Rome. The fear? That Trump’s deal might end up looking way too much like the old Obama-era nuclear agreement, the JCPOA which Israel always hated because they say it didn’t actually stop Iran from getting closer to nukes.
Witkoff told them Trump wants to avoid war but still stop Iran from going nuclear. Problem is, details from the U.S. side are vague, and with Iran signaling it’s only interested in a deal like the old one, Israeli officials fear a bad agreement is coming.
Trump himself has been sending mixed signals. He’s said he wants diplomacy first, but hasn’t ruled out military action if that fails. Some in Israel think now’s the perfect time for a strike, especially since their October 2024 attacks weakened Iran’s air defenses.
Iran’s foreign minister, meanwhile, says a deal’s possible if the U.S. drops what he calls “unrealistic” demands, like completely stopping uranium enrichment. Right now, Iran has uranium enriched to over 60%, way more than needed for peaceful uses, and dangerously close to weapons-grade.
Despite all this, Israeli sources say Trump knows how dangerous a nuclear-armed Iran would be and is still serious about stopping it. But until then, Israeli leaders remain on edge watching closely, waiting to see if this turns into a bad rerun of 2015.
Israel Worried Trump’s About to Repeat Obama’s Nuclear Deal Blunder”
