U.S. President Trump stated at the White House on the 28th that he has warned Israel not to attack Iran for the time being, in order to give the U.S. government more time to push for a new nuclear deal with Iran.
He said he told Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu that "it is not appropriate to do so now because we are very close to reaching a solution," and "the situation could change at any moment, a phone call could change everything."
Trump believes Iran wants to reach a deal, which will "save many lives" and the agreement could be reached "within the next few weeks."
With Oman mediating, the U.S. and Iran held the fifth round of indirect talks in Rome, Italy, on the 23rd. Although Omani Foreign Minister Badr said after the talks that some non-decisive progress was made, the two sides still have significant differences on several core issues. The U.S. insists that Iran should completely halt all levels of uranium enrichment activities, while Iran emphasizes that moderate uranium enrichment is part of its right to peacefully use nuclear energy, rejecting the "zero enrichment" demand.
According to a previous report by The New York Times, Israeli officials told the U.S. that even if the U.S. reaches an agreement with Iran, Netanyahu may still order the Israeli military to attack Iran's nuclear facilities.
The report stated that Israel had planned to launch attacks on multiple Iranian nuclear facilities as early as May to deter its ability to develop nuclear weapons, but was stopped by Trump.