McNulty said the United States routinely conducts military exercises with Israel to counter threats in the region.
She added, “Therefore, we do not have anything new to add about this matter and what has been circulated in media reports.”
Reuters had previously quoted a US official, whom it described as a “prominent” and did not reveal his name, as saying that there are expected discussions between US and Israeli military leaders regarding conducting military exercises, in preparation for striking Iran’s nuclear facilities in order to solve the failure of diplomatic solutions, describing this as “Worst case scenario”.
According to the agency, the Pentagon leaders briefed the US National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, more than a month ago about all the military options on the table to ensure that Iran is prevented from producing nuclear weapons.
This development comes at a time when the nuclear negotiations in Vienna between Iran and the major powers falter.
Reuters said that these discussions are expected to take place later on Thursday, in preparation for the last solution, which is to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, in the event that negotiations fail, and if the political leadership in the two countries so requests.
She added that these pre-scheduled talks are between US military leaders and their Israeli counterparts, led by Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who flew hours ago to the US capital.
The US official declined to give more details about the possible exercises, but said: “We are in trouble because the nuclear program is advancing quickly.”
On October 25, the leaders of the “Pentagon” briefed Sullivan of all the military options available to prevent Iran from producing a nuclear weapon.
US President Joe Biden had hoped that negotiations would revive the nuclear deal.
The last round of nuclear negotiations aimed at reviving the 2015 agreement was suspended last week, after Western negotiators expressed their frustration with the Iranian negotiating delegation’s proposal to make radical changes to the text of the agreement that had been worked for in previous rounds, before Ibrahim Raisi took over the reins of power in Iran in last August.
The nuclear negotiations center on Iran’s demand to lift the economic sanctions imposed on it, while the United States is seeking to obtain guarantees that impose restrictions on its nuclear program, in order to return to the agreement that it withdrew from in 2018, during the era of former President Donald Trump.
Negotiations are scheduled to resume in Vienna on Thursday, after consultations by representatives of the major powers in their countries, but French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian expressed his concern that Iran is procrastinating to gain time, especially in light of the acceleration of its steps in developing its nuclear program.
.