Fifth round of Iran nuclear talks in Rome Friday

The fifth round of Iran nuclear talks is set for Friday in Rome, and the White House believes negotiations are heading the right way.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday in what she described as a productive discussion.

“As the president told me and he told all of you, this deal with Iran could end in two ways. It could end in a very positive diplomatic solution or it could end in a very negative situation for Iran,” she said.

Israeli sources told Axios that Israel is preparing strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities if the negotiations between the U.S. and Iran fall apart.

Mr. Trump confirmed last week that Iran had been presented with a nuclear deal from the U.S.

“They have a proposal, but more importantly, they know they have to move quickly or something bad, something bad is going to happen,” Mr. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One while leaving the United Arab Emirates Friday.

He said earlier that Iran and the U.S. are “very close” to a deal because Iran has “sort of agreed” to terms.

A top adviser to Iran’s supreme leader has signaled that Tehran is ready to sign a nuclear deal with certain conditions with Mr. Trump in exchange for lifting economic sanctions.

Ali Shamkhani, a top political, military and nuclear adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Iran would commit to never making nuclear weapons, getting rid of its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium which can be weaponized, agree to enrich uranium only to the lower levels needed for civilian use, and allow international inspectors to supervise the process, in exchange for the immediate lifting of all economic sanctions on Iran.

Asked if Iran would agree to sign an agreement today if those conditions were met, Mr. Shamkhani said, “Yes.”

But Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has argued that Tehran’s ability to enrich uranium remained a core right of the Iranian people and a red line in nuclear talks.