U.S. President Donald Trump scuppered an Israeli plan to strike Iranian nuclear websites, the New York Times reported on Wednesday (April 16, 2025), as Washington makes an attempt to attain a deal to curb Tehran’s weapons program.
The United States and Iran, which haven’t had diplomatic relations for greater than 40 years, are in search of a brand new nuclear deal after Mr. Trump pulled out of a landmark settlement throughout his first time period.
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi are due to meet in Rome on Saturday (April 17, 2025), per week after they held the highest-level Iranian-U.S. nuclear negotiations for the reason that collapse of a 2015 accord.
In March, Mr. Trump despatched a letter to Iran’s supreme chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urging talks however warning of attainable navy motion in the event that they failed to produce a deal.
Mr. Trump administration officers revealed to the New York Times that Israel had sought Washington’s help to perform an assault on Iranian nuclear services in May 2025.
According to the Times, the plan and its attainable maneuvers have been into account for months.
But throughout Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s go to to the White House final week, Mr. Trump instructed the Israelis he wouldn’t assist an assault. The President as an alternative publicly introduced the direct talks with Tehran.
Iran has persistently denied that it’s in search of nuclear weapons, however has stepped up its nuclear capacities since Mr. Trump scrapped the 2015 settlement.
The newest International Atomic Energy Agency report famous with “serious concern” that Iran had an estimated 274.8 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%, nearing the weapons grade of 90%.
Published – April 17, 2025 11:16 pm IST
