PM holds briefing on ‘classified topic’ as Trump decision on Iran strike said expected in days

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was holding a security consultation in Jerusalem with top advisers and defense officials on a “classified topic,” the office of one of the attendees told The Times of Israel on Thursday, as speculation continues to swirl over whether the US will attack Iran.

According to Channel 12, the discussion was focused on Iran and the possibility of an American strike, which US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened.

The meeting comes amid a flurry of threats, discussions and diplomatic activity in Jerusalem, Washington, Moscow and Tehran surrounding the possibility, and possible fallout, of a US strike on Iran. Iran is prepared to show its naval force next week after the US moved what Trump called a “massive armada” into the region.

Trump has threatened to attack over Iran’s deadly crackdown on mass anti-regime protests this month. Rights groups have verified thousands of deaths, but estimates of the total number of people killed range into the tens of thousands. Trump has also more recently threatened Iran with strikes unless it agrees to a deal halting its nuclear program.

A potential directive from Trump on a strike is expected in the coming days, once all of the US military assets heading to the Middle East are in place, a senior US official told Channel 12 on Thursday. Iran has repeatedly threatened to strike US targets and Israel if the US attacks.

Trump’s goal in the strike and how he hopes to achieve it remain unclear, though he is reported to want to create conditions for “regime change.” Israeli officials do not believe that a limited US strike will bring down the Iranian regime, and Trump shares their assessment, according to Channel 12. Therefore, they assessed that Trump will focus a potential attack on physical Iranian assets, especially its nuclear and missile programs.

The channel reported that Israel believes even a limited US strike will spur a significant Iranian attack on Israel, to which Jerusalem will respond in force.

On Thursday, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US military would be prepared to carry out whatever Trump decides on Iran to ensure Tehran does not pursue nuclear weapons capability.

“They should not pursue nuclear capabilities. We will be prepared to deliver whatever this president expects of the War Department,” Hegseth said, referring to the Trump administration’s unofficial renaming of the Defense Department.

Amid the uncertainty, senior Saudi and Israeli defense and intelligence officials are in Washington, DC, this week for talks with the Trump administration over a potential Iran strike, Axios reported, citing two US officials and two other sources with knowledge.

According to the outlet, Israeli officials, among them IDF Intelligence Directorate chief Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder, are sharing intelligence on potential targets in Iran, whereas the Saudis are trying to head off a war through diplomatic means.

Binder met senior Pentagon, CIA, and White House officials on Tuesday and Wednesday, said the two US officials. A source familiar with the details said that Binder brought specific information that the US requested.

Meanwhile, Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman — younger brother of powerful Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — was due to meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff on Thursday and Friday.

The Saudi crown prince has told Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian that Riyadh would not allow its airspace or territory to be used for military actions against Tehran, state news agency SPA reported earlier this week.

According to Axios, Saudi Arabia has been passing messages between Iran and the US in an effort to defuse the situation.

In addition to the Saudi push against an attack, Israel has identified massive pressure from Turkey, Qatar, and Oman on the White House to allow them to mediate between Washington and Tehran to find a diplomatic solution, said Channel 12.

Turkey will offer to mediate between Washington and Tehran when Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visits on Friday, officials said. Ankara is assessing additional security precautions along the border if a US strike destabilizes the country, a senior Turkish official told AFP.

Much of the 500-kilometer (310-mile) frontier is secured by a wall, but “it has proven insufficient,” said the official.

But recent talks between Washington and Iran failed to make inroads on a deal to end the Islamic Republic’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and that has increased Trump’s openness to major intervention, CNN reported.

A US naval strike group is in the Middle East, and Trump has warned it was “ready, willing and able” to hit Iran “if necessary.”

Iran’s first vice president said, meanwhile, that it must be ready for war.

“Today, we must be prepared for a state of war. Our strategy is that we will never start a war, but if it is imposed, we will defend ourselves,” First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said, as quoted by the official IRNA news agency.

He added that Iran is “ready” for negotiations with the United States but said “this time we want guarantees,” without giving further details.

On Thursday, army spokesman Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia told state television, “A decisive response will be delivered instantly” in the event of a US attack.

“If such a miscalculation is made by the Americans, it will certainly not unfold the way Trump imagines — carrying out a quick operation and then, two hours later, tweeting that the operation is over,” he warned.

Russia keeps a close watch

Russian President Vladimir Putin told his UAE counterpart, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, that Russia is closely monitoring the situation in Iran and wants to discuss it with him in talks at the Kremlin.

Putin made the comment at the start of talks with the UAE president, whose country has recently hosted peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the potential for talks between the US and Iran had not yet been exhausted, and that any use of force against Tehran could create “chaos” in the region and lead to dangerous consequences.

Russia is ready to evacuate its staff from Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant if necessary, Alexei Likhachev, the head of Russia’s state nuclear corporation, was cited as saying on Thursday by the state news agency TASS.

Putin said last year that hundreds of Russians were working at the facility, Iran’s only operating nuclear power plant, which Moscow built for Iran.

More nuclear facilities are currently being built at the Bushehr site by Russia.

A US strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June last year did not target Bushehr. Likhachev warned at the time that an attack on the site could trigger a catastrophe comparable to the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Iran to hold live fire exercise

In more saber-rattling, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard naval forces will carry out live-fire exercises in the Strait of Hormuz on February 1 and February 2, Press TV reported.

The Strait is the world’s most vital oil export route, which connects the biggest Gulf oil producers, such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates, with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.

A notice to mariners sent Thursday by radio warned that Iran planned to conduct “naval shooting” in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday and Monday. Two Pakistani security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to journalists, also confirmed the warning had been sent.

Iran did not immediately acknowledge the drill.

On Tuesday, the US said it was to hold a multi-day aerial exercise in the Middle East.