Washington Post: US intelligence sees Israel as likely to attack Iran by midyear, could hit Fordo and Natanz

US intelligence warns that Israel is likely to launch a preemptive attack on Iran’s nuclear program by midyear, the Washington Post reports, citing multiple intelligence reports.

The Washington Post report comes hours after the Wall Street Journal reported similar findings.

Such an attack would set back Iran’s nuclear program by weeks or months while escalating tension in the region and risking a wider conflict, according to multiple intelligence reports from the end of the Biden administration and start of the Trump administration, the newspaper reports.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. The White House declined to comment. The Post says the Israeli government, CIA, Defense Intelligence Agency and Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment.

Brian Hughes, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, tells the Post that US President Donald Trump “will not permit Iran to get a nuclear weapon.”

“While he prefers negotiating a resolution to American’s long-standing issues with the Iranian regime peacefully, he will not wait indefinitely if Iran isn’t willing to deal, and soon,” Hughes tells The Post.

The most comprehensive of the intelligence reports came in early January and was produced by the intelligence directorate of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Post says.

It warns that Israel was likely to attempt an attack on Iran’s Fordo and Natanz nuclear facilities.

Current and former US officials familiar with the intelligence said Israel has determined its bombing of Iran in October in retaliation for a ballistic missile attack, degraded Iran’s air defenses and left the country exposed to a follow-on assault, says the Post, which did not name the officials.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.