Israel 'still eyeing Iran nuke strike'

Israel has not ruled out an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities in the coming months despite President Donald Trump telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the US was for now unwilling to support such a move, according to an Israeli official and two other people familiar with the matter.

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Israeli officials have vowed to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and Netanyahu has insisted that any negotiation with Iran must lead to the complete dismantling of its nuclear programme.

US and Iranian negotiators were set for a second round of preliminary nuclear talks in Rome yesterday.

Over the past months, Israel has proposed to the Trump administration a series of options to attack Iran's facilities, including some with late spring and summer timelines, the sources said. The plans include a mix of air strikes and commando operations that vary in severity and could set back Tehran's ability to weaponise its nuclear programme by just months or a year or more, the sources said.

The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Mr Trump told Mr Netanyahu in a White House meeting earlier this month that Washington wanted to prioritise diplomatic talks with Tehran and that he was unwilling to support a strike on the country's nuclear facilities in the short term.

But Israeli officials now believe that their military could instead launch a limited strike on Iran that would require less US support. Such an attack would be significantly smaller than those Israel initially proposed.