By JNS Staff, Amelie Botbol
IDF and security agencies are prepared for any scenario, says the Israeli prime minister.
Israel is in “full coordination” with Washington on Iran and is preparing for all possible scenarios, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday as he convened his Security Cabinet.
"We are maintaining continuous contact with our friends in the United States," said Netanyahu, according to his office, adding that he spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump "almost on a daily basis. My people and his people are in daily contact as well, including today. And I will also speak with President Trump later tonight." There were "no surprises" between them, he said.
Jerusalem and Washington share the goal of removing all enriched nuclear material from Iran and dismantling its enrichment capabilities, he continued.
עדכון קצר בפתח הקבינט הביטחוני >> pic.twitter.com/dwpWF7PfXY
— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) May 6, 2026
"President Trump believes he can achieve this one way or another. We, however, are prepared for any scenario, and that is the directive I have given to the IDF and our security agencies," said Netanyahu. "Israel is stronger than ever; Iran and its proxies are weaker than ever.”
Trump said the United States has had “very good talks” with Iran over the past 24 hours and suggested a deal remains within reach, CNN reported on Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said there is no set deadline for Tehran to respond to a U.S. proposal, adding that “it’ll happen” without specifying a timeframe. He warned that Washington could take further steps if an agreement is not reached but said Iran “wants to make a deal” and that an accord is “very possible."
Trump also reiterated that Iran would not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon and claimed Tehran has agreed to that condition.
Trump earlier on Wednesday warned of a renewed and more intense bombing campaign should the Islamic Republic not finalize an agreement to end the war.
“Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption, the already legendary 'Epic Fury' will be at an end, and the highly effective blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to be open to all, including Iran. If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before,” the president wrote on his Truth Social account.
His social media post followed an Axios report hours earlier that the White House believes that the United States and Iran are nearing an agreement on a one-page, 14-point memorandum to end the war in the Middle East.
Tehran is expected to respond to mediators on Thursday regarding the U.S. proposal to end the war, CNN reported.
Likud Knesset member Shalom Danino told JNS that historically, Israel’s main request of the United States had been approval for a strike on Iran. Previous U.S. administrations, including that of President Barack Obama, opposed such a move, viewing it as contrary to American interests. From that perspective, the lawmaker said, the joint campaign was particularly significant.
“Had we attacked alone, would we have been able to eliminate Iran’s nuclear program? No. We would have had to settle for what we could accomplish on our own,” Danino told JNS on Thursday. “This campaign set the nuclear program back for a very long time. It damaged their production chain and improved Israel’s standing both regionally and internationally.”
Danino said the campaign also provided Israel with political and diplomatic relief from mounting international pressure.
“We always need to ask ourselves whether it would have been better to act alone. If the Americans maintain their demand that the uranium be removed from Iran, our situation will be excellent,” he added.
According to Danino, all of the campaign’s objectives, as outlined before the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on which he serves, were achieved.
“The most immediate and urgent goal was to stop them from building and arming a nuclear bomb,” he said. “They were close to going underground and assembling the final components of a weapon that could potentially have been launched. It was a matter of months.”
On Iran’s ballistic missile program, Danino said Israel’s strikes significantly disrupted the country’s production capabilities.
“They can rebuild, but we will have time to prepare and strike again if necessary,” he said.
我在北京同中国外长王毅进行了富有建设性的会谈。双方重申伊朗有权维护国家主权和民族尊严，伊方赞赏中方提出的关于维护和促进地区和平稳定的四点主张。伊方信任中方，期待中方为促和止战继续发挥积极作用，并支持建立能够统筹发展与安全的战后地区新架构。 pic.twitter.com/esQRcapEGx
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) May 6, 2026
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on Wednesday, calling their talks "constructive" in post on X.
"Both sides reaffirmed Iran's right to safeguard national sovereignty and national dignity. The Iranian side appreciates the four-point proposal put forward by the Chinese side on upholding and promoting regional peace and stability," Araghchi wrote. "The Iranian side trusts the Chinese side and expects the Chinese side to continue playing a positive role in promoting peace and stopping war, and supports the establishment of a new post-war regional architecture that can coordinate development and security."
