CNN says it’s unclear whether Israeli leaders have made a final decision to attack, though one source says likelihood they will do so ‘has gone up significantly in recent months’
By *Agencies* <www.timesofisrael.com/writers/agencies/> and *ToI Staff* <www.timesofisrael.com/writers/times-of-israel-staff/>Today, 4:19 am
Energy Organization of Iran / AFP)
New intelligence obtained by the United States suggests that Israel is making preparations to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, CNN reported <www.cnn.com/2025/05/20/politics/intelligence-israel-possible-strike-iran-nuclear-facilities> on Tuesday, citing multiple US officials familiar with the intelligence.
It was not clear whether Israeli leaders have made a final decision and there was disagreement within the US government about whether they would ultimately decide to carry out strikes, CNN added, citing the officials.
The report could not immediately be confirmed. The National Security Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Israeli Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond, nor did the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, which was contacted after hours.
One source familiar with the intelligence told CNN the likelihood of an Israeli strike on an Iranian nuclear facility “has gone up significantly in recent months.”
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The person added that the chance of a strike would be more likely if the US reached a deal with Iran that did not remove all of the country’s uranium, CNN added.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has been conducting negotiations with Iran aimed at achieving a diplomatic deal over its nuclear program, and the CNN report quoted US officials as saying that an Israeli strike would mark a major break with Trump.
The new intelligence was based on the public and private communications from senior Israeli officials as well as intercepted Israeli communications and observations of Israeli military movements that could suggest an imminent strike, CNN reported.
CNN cited two sources saying that among the military preparations the US had observed were the movement of air munitions and the completion of an air exercise, though the report noted the moves could be part of an Israeli pressure campaign against Iran rather than an indicator of a possible strike.
Earlier on Tuesday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said <www.timesofisrael.com/irans-khamenei-says-nuclear-talks-with-us-unlikely-to-lead-to-any-outcome/> US demands that Tehran stop enriching uranium are “excessive and outrageous,” state media reported, voicing doubts over whether talks on a new nuclear deal will succeed.
*With the negotiations ongoing, a source that CNN described as familiar with the Trump administration’s thinking said the US is unlikely to assist Israel in striking Iran’s nuclear program right now, while an American official said intelligence efforts were ramping up to help if Israeli leaders decide to attack.*
*The report also cited a source familiar with the matter saying that Israel does not have the means to take out Iran’s nuclear program without US help, though an Israeli source said Israel was ready to act alone if Washington negotiates a “bad deal” with Tehran that is unacceptable to Jerusalem. “I think it’s more likely they strike to try and get the deal to fall apart if they think Trump is going to settle for a ‘bad deal,’” a person familiar with US intelligence told CNN. “The Israelis have not been shy about signaling that to us… both publicly and privately.”*
[image: https://static-cdn.toi-media.com/www/uploads/2025/05/AP25140378054198-640×400.jpg] <static-cdn.toi-media.com/www/uploads/2025/05/AP25140378054198.jpg>
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a memorial in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2025 for late president Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash last year. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
CNN’s reporting follows a report in The New York Times last month on how Trump “waved off <www.nytimes.com/2025/04/16/us/politics/trump-israel-iran-nuclear.html>” a planned Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear program that would require US military support.
While backing nuclear diplomacy, he has also warned of potential military action if it fails. Iran and the United States so far have held four rounds of Omani-mediated talks since April 12, the highest-level contact between the two foes since Trump abandoned the 2015 nuclear accord during his first term in office..
They had confirmed plans to hold another round of discussions during their last meeting on May 11, which Iran described as “difficult but useful,” while a US official said Washington was “encouraged.”
Trump has said he presented Iran’s leadership with an “olive branch,” adding that it was an offer that would not last forever.
He further threatened to impose “massive maximum pressure,” including driving Iranian oil exports to zero if talks failed.
Trump later doubled down on his warning, saying that “something bad is going to happen” unless the Iranians “move quickly” toward a deal. CNN reported that s senior Western diplomat who met with Trump said the US president indicated he would give the talks weeks before turning to a military option if no diplomatic breakthrough is reached.
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