Israel has expressed serious concerns that the United States is nearing a "bad deal" with Iran that may not fulfil Jerusalem's core requirements for preventing Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons, Channel 12 reported.

Previously, IntelliNews noted that Iranian and US officials were set to start expert-level meetings to establish a framework for an agreement on April 23 either in Rome or Muscat.

According to diplomatic, political, and security sources cited by Channel 12, negotiations initiated by President Donald Trump and led by US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff are "very, very advanced."

Israeli officials are reportedly troubled by what they perceive as insufficient information sharing from Washington on critical aspects of the talks, despite ongoing dialogue between Witkoff and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.

It has become increasingly clear that the Trump administration understands the pitfalls of the original 2015 nuclear deal of Israeli efforts to spy on both the Iranians and the US negotiating teams, at the time causing a rift between the Obama administration and the Netanyahu administration at the time. 

According to the report, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Israel Katz, and an unnamed senior IDF officer convened an urgent meeting this week to address these concerns. During an April 22 phone conversation with Trump, Netanyahu allegedly stated he "does not rule out a diplomatic approach” provided any resulting agreement would “leave no trace” of Iran's nuclear programme.

This comes after Netanyahu and Trump met at the White House with discussions focusing heavily on Iran's nuclear programme and the ongoing Gaza conflict.

Trump reportedly confirmed this aligned with American intentions and that his 60-day deadline for a negotiated solution remains active.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio clarified the American position in an interview with journalist Bari Weiss, stating that Washington would allow Iran to operate a civilian nuclear program with reactors for electricity generation but without domestic uranium enrichment capabilities.

“If Iran wants a civil nuclear programme, they can have one just like many other countries in the world have one, and that is they import enriched material," Rubio stated on Bari Weiss's The Free Press podcast.

“There's a pathway to a civil, peaceful nuclear program if they want one, but if they insist on enriching, then they will be the only country in the world that doesn't have a weapons program but is 'enriching' — that's problematic," he said. 

Contrary to the concerns allegedly aired by the Netanyahu administration, some sectors of Israeli society appear confident that the negotiations between the US and Iran are a positive development. Channel 14 political correspondent Tamir Morag claimed that negotiations are advancing down an encouraging path due to several reasons cited on his X account:

"Witkoff's U-turn: After saying that Iran would be able to enrich uranium to a ‘civilian’ level of 3.67%, Trump's envoy issued a clarification stating that Iran would not be able to enrich uranium at all and would have to dismantle all of its centrifuges.”

“Minister of Strategic Affairs of Israel Ron Dermer and Mossad Director David Barnea were present in Rome while Witkoff and his team were conducting the last round of talks with the Iranians. It can be assumed that the minister closest to Netanyahu and the head of the Mossad did not come to the city to visit the Colosseum.”

“The White House announced the appointment of Israeli-American Merav Seren to head the Iran desk at the National Security Council. Seren, a former employee of the Defence Ministry and the Israel Defence Forces, has published studies and statements in recent years in which she expressed a strong position against Iran on the nuclear issue.”

“Prime Minister Netanyahu emerged smiling and very satisfied from his conversation with President Trump this week. The two leaders appear to be on the same wavelength, despite initial concerns in Israel.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi appears to be heading off Israeli moves to potentially halt negotiations by saying on social media, "The attempts by the Israeli regime and certain Special Interest groups to derail diplomacy—using variety of tactics—is abundantly clear for all to see." 

He added, "Those seeking to manipulate public opinion can also be expected to come up with fantastical claims and props like scary-looking satellite images."