Israel on edge as Trump seems keen on Iran deal

Standing firm

Despite being under enormous military pressure to reach a deal, the Iranians are refusing to back down on their demand that they reserve the right to continue enriching uranium, which they insist is for peaceful purposes.

Speaking after the first round of indirect talks between US and Iranian officials, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the negotiations would not succeed without a recognition of Iran's right to enrich uranium. The Iranians insist the issue remains a red line in further talks.

"Zero enrichment can never be accepted by us," Araghchi said. "Hence, we need to focus on discussions that accept enrichment inside Iran while building trust that enrichment is and will stay for peaceful purposes."

The suggestion that the Trump administration may be seriously considering agreeing to a compromise on this vexed issue was enough to set alarm bells ringing in Israel, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not just demanding the complete dismantling of Iran's nuclear programme. He also wants strict limitations imposed on Iran's ballistic missile capabilities included in any new deal agreed with the White House.

Claims of a pending compromise prompted Netanyahu to request an urgent meeting with Trump to discuss the issues. This was despite the fact that the US president indicated he was giving serious consideration to dispatching a second US aircraft-carrier group to the Gulf to increase the pressure on Iran to capitulate to his demands.

Prior to meeting with Netanyahu, Trump insisted Iran "wants to make a deal very badly" after describing "very good talks" with the Islamic Republic. But for his part, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian insisted his country would "not yield to their excessive demands".

Mission not accomplished

Meanwhile, it seems Netanyahu's visit to Washington was in vain, as the Israeli prime minister was unable to convince Trump to back down from a deal.

A sign that the meeting did not go Netanyahu's way was reflected in the fact that Trump did not hold a press conference with him afterwards, which is his usual preference. Instead, he simply posted on Truth Social that the meeting between the leaders had been "very good".

"There was nothing definitive reached other than I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see whether or not a deal can be consummated," he said, adding that a deal was his "preference" but if one could not be reached, "we will just have to see what the outcome will be".

If any conclusion is to be drawn from the meeting, therefore, it is that Trump's main objective is to secure a new nuclear deal with Iran, irrespective of whether it addresses the concerns of Israel's embattled prime minister.