IRAN: CNN Reports Of Israeli Plans To Attack Iran May Be To Force A Nuclear Deal

CNN is reporting that US intelligence has found that Israel is considering an attack on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure but a final decision is yet to be made and it may just reflect pressure on Iran to reach a nuclear deal with the US. The news has driven WTI up 2.5% to $63.59 at the start of today’s trading. The leak suggests that the US administration may want to pressure Iran while talks on a nuclear agreement are ongoing.

• Israel relies on US support and an attack on Iran without an agreement from the US would strain the relationship. CNN says that “there is deep disagreement within the US government” about the possibility of an Israeli strike.
• The likelihood of an attack looks to depend on what Israel thinks of US-Iran nuclear talks, as it won’t be happy if Iran retains any ability to refine Uranium.
• According to CNN, the US has seen Israeli movement of “air munitions and the completion of an air exercise”.
• Oil markets continue to be sensitive to a deterioration in the already fraught situation in the Middle East. Iran would retaliate if Israel attacked especially its nuclear facilities.
• The US has also threatened Iran with military action if it doesn’t reach a nuclear deal and President Trump has said that US negotiations are finite with a 60-day deadline. It has been 38 days since they began.
• Meanwhile, Iranian President Pezeshkian said it won’t give up its non-military nuclear programme and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei voiced his doubts that the talks with the US will result in an agreement.