Israel fears US will push for interim nuclear deal with Iran

TEL AVIV — Israeli Axios journalist Barak Ravid revealed on Monday that the Biden administration had discussed with European and Israeli counterparts the idea of an interim agreement with Iran. Indirect contacts were initiated, said the Axios report, by the administration in January, conducted mostly by European representatives. Such a deal would see Iran reverting to its previous 60% enrichment level activity in return for a partial easing of sanctions and thaw of some Iranian funds frozen by foreign banks.

"The idea of trying to reach a partial agreement between Iran and world powers attests, first and foremost, to US and Israeli distress over the impasse between the sides, which allows Iran to move toward nuclear breakout capacity in a continuous, creeping and worrying manner," a senior diplomatic source in the Middle East told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. "But it shows that the US has no other solution … to postpone the deadline as much as possible — that is, the point of no return at which it will have to consider using force against Iran, or simply accept it as a nuclear power."