US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu off a military strike on Iran that would set back Washington's efforts to broker a new nuclear deal.
Mr Trump's comment comes after Israel dismissed as “fake news” a report by The New York Times, which said Mr Netanyahu has been threatening to sabotage US-Iran talks by striking Tehran's nuclear enrichment sites.
A reporter asked Mr Trump if he had warned Mr Netanyahu against taking some sort of action that could disrupt the nuclear talks.
“Well, I'd like to be honest. Yes I did,” Mr Trump said, adding that he told the Israeli leader it would be an “inappropriate” measure.
“We're very close to a solution now,” Mr Trump added. “Now, that could change at any moment – it could change with a phone call but, right now, I think they [Iran] want to make a deal.”
The US and Iran have concluded five rounds of nuclear talks in Rome and Muscat since mid-April.
“I think we're we've made a lot of progress,” Mr Trump said, adding that Iran still has to agree on a “final” stages of the agreement.
Israel has long been critical of any US agreement with Iran that would allow it to continue nuclear enrichment. Iran, meanwhile, maintains that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.
Earlier on Wednesday, Iranian officials said Tehran would consider allowing US inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency to monitor the nation's atomic activity if talks with Washington succeed.
The IAEA was tasked with overseeing Iran's compliance with a nuclear deal signed in 2015. The agreement collapsed after Mr Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from it in his first term.
