Iran unlikely to agree to a return to nuclear deal, Israeli officials tell media

A number of Hebrew media outlets, citing unnamed Israeli diplomatic officials, report that Jerusalem believes Iran is unlikely to agree to a return to the 2015 nuclear deal.

An official tells Ynet anonymously that European expressions of optimism in recent days were “manufactured optimism intended to pressure the Iranians to make a decision, but the Iranians don’t want to accept the deal as it is.”

An unnamed source tells Haaretz: “There’s no strategic change for the Iranians… It will be very difficult for them to accept a deal that is not a significant improvement [from their perspective] on the original accord.”

The source added that while some of Iran’s nuclear negotiators are interested in a deal, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is seen as strongly opposed.