U.S. officials have been told Israel is fully ready to launch an operation into Iran, multiple sources told CBS News.
The U.S. anticipates Iran could retaliate on certain American sites in neighboring Iraq. This is part of the reason the U.S. advised some Americans to leave the region earlier Wednesday. The State Department ordered non-emergency government officials to exit Iraq due to “heightened regional tensions,” and the Pentagon has authorized military family members to voluntarily leave locations throughout the Middle East, a defense official told CBS News.
President Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is still planning to meet with Iran for a sixth round of talks on the country’s nuclear program in the coming days, two U.S. officials said.
Mr. Trump spoke about Iran at an appearance at the Kennedy Center on Wednesday, telling reporters Americans were advised to leave the region “because it could be a dangerous place, and we’ll see what happens.” Mr. Trump also reiterated the U.S. did not want Iran to develop a nuclear weapon, saying: “We’re not going to allow that.”
When asked at the White House why dependents of military personnel were allowed to voluntarily leave the region, Mr. Trump said, “You’ll have to see.”
Meanwhile, Iran’s Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh told reporters Wednesday that if nuclear talks fail and “a conflict is imposed on us,” the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps “will target all U.S. bases in the host countries.”
The U.K. Maritime Trade Organization on Wednesday advised ships to exercise caution in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman — three key waterways for the global oil trade — due to “increased tensions within the region which could lead to an escalation of military activity.”
Israeli officials and White House spokespeople declined to comment.
The Trump administration has sought a deal with Iran to limit the country’s nuclear program, as international watchdogs say the country has continued to enrich uranium to near-weapons level. The talks are delicate, and it’s unclear how close the two sides are to a deal: Mr. Trump has said he will not accept any uranium enrichment by Iran, but Iranian leaders have indicated they won’t accept those terms, the president said earlier this week.
For years, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been deeply skeptical of any deal with Iran. The two countries have been nemeses since Iran’s 1979 revolution. Netanyahu’s office says Israel has conducted “countless overt and covert operations” to stunt the growth of Iran’s nuclear program.
Last month, Mr. Trump said publicly he had urged Netanyahu not to strike Iran while his administration pursues negotiations with the regime.
“I told him this would be inappropriate to do right now because we’re very close to a solution,” Mr. Trump said.
Iran’s nuclear program dates back decades, though the country has long insisted the program is only intended for peaceful purposes.
In 2015, former President Barack Obama struck a deal with Iran limiting the scope of the country’s uranium enrichment program, over the objections of Netanyahu, who alleged Iran is unreliable and had covertly violated the agreement. Mr. Trump exited the agreement during his first term and ratcheted up sanctions against Iran, while the Middle Eastern country expanded its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
In a report two weeks ago, the International Atomic Energy Agency estimated Iran had enriched 408.6 kilograms of uranium up to 60% purity — which is very close to the 90% enrichment level required to build a nuclear weapon. That’s a significant jump from the 274.8-kilogram stockpile the United Nations agency had estimated in February.
In testimony on Capitol Hill earlier Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, “There are plenty of indications that they have been moving their way towards something that would look a lot like a nuclear weapon.”
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and
Eleanor Watson
contributed to this report.
