Israel escalates threats against Iran’s ballistic missile program ahead of US-Tehran talks

Report by Amal Shehadeh, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian 

Israel has escalated threats of military action against Iran’s ballistic missile program if Friday’s talks between Washington and Tehran do not put the issue at the top of the agenda.

Israeli officials see Washington’s decision to move the talks from Turkey to Oman as an early sign of U.S. backtracking under pressure from Arab states. The Israeli cabinet has discussed the potential implications of the upcoming negotiations.

Israeli assessments say the gap between U.S. and Iranian positions is large and difficult to bridge, especially after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stressed that talks with Tehran must include ballistic missiles and Iran’s relations with regional proxies.

If a framework to bridge these differences emerges, an Israeli official said it would likely follow a step-by-step approach: starting with the nuclear file, including the transfer of Iran’s enriched uranium to Russia and Turkey, then allowing International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors back into Iran, and finally dismantling the remaining enrichment capabilities at nuclear facilities.

The approach fuels Israeli concerns that Iranian stalling could leave the missile issue unresolved, prompting Israel to intensify preparations in case it must strike these sites.

Israeli security agencies and cabinet ministers are closely monitoring developments in the Oman talks. Security forces are preparing both defensively and offensively for potential moves by Tehran and its regional proxies, anticipating escalation across multiple fronts.