Despite US assurances, Israel fears being sidelined in partial Iran deal
Israel is rattled by Oman as the new venue for the talks and fears that President Donald Trump could go for a partial nuclear deal or for an interim agreement that would buy the Iranians more time.
TEL AVIV — Tuesday’s visit by American envoy Steve Witkoff did not soothe the Israeli political and security leadership's fears that the US might agree to a partial deal with Iran.
With President Donald Trump sounding serious about relaunching talks with Iran, Israel is concerned that Washington will accept a deal that only focuses on the nuclear issue, ignoring Iran's ballistic missile project and support for its proxies, giving Tehran more time to strategize.
"Trump is now learning the hard way how complicated it is to operate in the Middle East," a senior Israeli political source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. “There's no quick fix here. Trump is now caught between Turkey, Oman and Iran, between the Emirates and Saudi Arabia," he added.
The negotiations between the US and Iran were supposed to take place Friday in Istanbul between Witkoff and Jared Kushner on the American side, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on the Iranian side. But on Tuesday, Tehran changed its mind on both the venue and the content.
