Politics US special envoy Witkoff in Israel on Tuesday
US special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected in Israel for talks on Tuesday. The Israeli Kan broadcaster reported that he will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, among others. The background to the visit is the tensions with Iran.
02.02.2026, 21:42
SDA
According to reports, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, Chief of General Staff Ejal Zamir and the head of the foreign intelligence service Mossad, David Barnea, will also take part in a larger meeting. Zamir and Barnea had also recently traveled to the USA for consultations.
Reports of possible new US-Iranian negotiations
According to media reports from both countries, the USA and Iran want to start new negotiations. A meeting between Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Witkoff is expected to take place in the coming days, according to the Tasnim news agency.
Israeli assessment: talks are likely to fail
The Kan channel reported that senior Israeli representatives assume that even if negotiations take place, they will not reach an agreement and will end in a dead end. After that, a possible US attack in Iran could still be expected.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened the Iranian government with military strikes, partly because of the brutal crackdown by state repressive forces against demonstrators during the recent mass protests. Thousands, if not tens of thousands of people are said to have been killed. Iran has threatened retaliatory strikes against Israel and the USA. The US military has significantly expanded its presence in the region since the beginning of January.
