Following Iran's hardline response to the United State's proposals for a revived nuclear deal, Israeli officials assess that a deal is unlikely to be signed in the near future.
A senior government source told the Israel Hayom newspaper that, "The nuclear agreement again seems some distance away, although both sides still want it to happen, which is why at the end of the day, it most probably will be signed."
The source added that, "The Iranians take one step forward, one step back, and then try to extract more concessions from the Americans. The Americans and Europeans have already given Iran their 'final offer' with a 'take it or leave it' warning, but all the same ,they're still negotiating. Israel's position is that red lines should be respected."
On Saturday, the Iranian Deputy Defense Minister related that his country has spread out its defense batteries among 51 sites, in order to prevent other countries from being able to attack. The assumption is that this step has been taken out of concern of Israeli attacks, seen as more likely as the nuclear talks progress and near a conclusion.