WSJ: Israel planning potential strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities in 2025

The Wall Street Journal has learned from US intelligence sources that Israel is preparing for a “significant” military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities this year, banking on support from Washington. 

The report indicates that Israel sees the Trump administration as more likely to back such an operation than Joe Biden’s government, and it fears that the window to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons is closing, per Caliber.Az.

According to officials familiar with the intelligence analysis, the assessment was first made in the final days of Biden’s presidency. A second intelligence report, compiled in the early days of Donald Trump’s administration, reaffirmed this conclusion.

US military officials informed the WSJ that Israel would likely require American assistance, including munitions, to effectively strike Iran’s “heavily fortified” nuclear sites. Neither the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office nor the Israeli military responded to the publication’s request for comment.

On the day of his recent meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump signed an executive order reinstating his “maximum pressure” strategy against Iran, aiming to cripple Tehran’s oil revenues and deter its nuclear ambitions.

However, Trump has distanced himself from speculation that the US and Israel are planning imminent military action, calling reports that they intend to “blow Iran to smithereens” an exaggeration. He stated that he would prefer a “non-nuclear deal” with Iran over military intervention, though before his inauguration, he had acknowledged that a US-Iran war was a possibility.

The WSJ previously reported that Israel contemplated attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities in October 2024 in response to Tehran’s missile strike on October 1. That Iranian attack was itself retaliation for Israeli strikes that killed key leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas.

On October 26, Israel carried out retaliatory airstrikes on Iranian military sites. Tehran downplayed the damage, but Axios later revealed that one of the Israeli targets housed equipment related to nuclear weapons development.

By December, Israeli media suggested that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) saw a strategic opening to target Iran’s nuclear program. This was reportedly due to the weakening of Iran-backed groups across the Middle East and the collapse of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has reported that Iran has ramped up uranium enrichment to 60%, edging closer to the 90% threshold required for nuclear weapons. This development has heightened regional tensions, increasing the urgency of Israel’s potential military action.

By Tamilla Hasanova