Senior Israeli officials have held an unannounced meeting with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff as Tel Aviv steps up its pressure campaign on the Trump administration ahead of a new round of US-Iran nuclear talks.
Witkoff is expected to meet with the Iranian foreign minister for the second time in a week on Saturday to negotiate placing limits on Tehran's nuclear program.
Trump has threatened to attack Iran if it pursues a nuclear weapon but says he prefers the diplomatic process, which kicked off last week with a first round of talks in Oman.
Israel is fiercely opposed to any diplomatic outreach to Tehran and has been lobbying the White House to assist it in a military attack on Iranian nuclear sites.
In a bid to influence the negotiations, Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Mossad chief David Barnea met with Witkoff in Paris on Friday, according to Axios, which cites three Israeli officials.
During the meeting, Witkoff reiterated that the Trump administration wants to curb Iran's enrichment of uranium via diplomatic means, the officials said.
Witkoff's spokesperson and the Israeli prime minister's office declined to comment to the US outlet.
Reporting by the New York Times this week claimed that the Israeli government has been trying to secure US backing for a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities as soon as next month.
The idea reportedly has support among some Trump officials but received pushback from key members of the administration, including Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
Trump chose to disclose the negotiations with Iran during Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the White House last week - an announcement that reportedly blindsided the Israeli leader.
The US president on Thursday restated his preference for a diplomatic outcome, telling reporters in the Oval Office that he's "not in a rush" to attack Iran.
"Iran has a chance to have a great country, and to live happily without death, and I’d like to see that," he said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Witkoff met in the Omani capital on Saturday for an initial round of talks that both sides described as "constructive".
Iran has ruled out completely halting its nuclear program but is open to curbing uranium enrichment, something that Witkoff has said the administration may be willing to agree to.