Israeli military intelligence and senior Mossad officials presented a meeting of the nation’s security cabinet, in which talks in Vienna between Iran and other world powers will lead to the US return to the 2015 nuclear deal, two officials told me. at the meeting.
Why does it matter: The Israeli government is very concerned about the US return to the nuclear deal and is trying to persuade the Biden administration not to take pressure on the Iranian regime.
News management: Mossad mainly briefed the cabinet meeting on the state of Iran’s nuclear program. Military intelligence officials discussed Iranian actions in the region at the meeting.
- The two intelligence agencies made similar assessments of the position of the talks in Vienna.
What are they saying: “We are not very optimistic, to say the least,” a senior Israeli official who attended the meeting told me. “We will not be surprised if in a few weeks the United States and other world powers sign an agreement with Iran.”
- National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told Fox News Sunday that talks in Vienna with Iran were “constructive” and that there was a real effort to return to mutual compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal.
- Sullivan added that the US will not lift sanctions unless it has “clarity and confidence” that Iran will fully return to all its obligations under the 2015 agreement.
What’s next: Israeli officials have told me that no new political decisions have been made at today’s cabinet meeting, and Israel will continue its dialogue with the Biden administration on negotiations with Iran.
- In the next two weeks, Israeli National Security Adviser Meir Ben Shabbatt, IDF chief of staff Aviv Kochavi, Israeli military intelligence chief Tamir Hayman and Mossad director Yossi Cohen will visit Washington for talks with their counterparts about Iran, officials tell me.