Ron Dermer and David Barnea, Israel's strategic affairs minister and the director of the Mossad intelligence agency, slipped into Paris for the low-profile meeting with Witkoff to try to influence the US position ahead of the second round of talks in Rome on Saturday
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is concerned the US will reach a deal with Iran that's similar to the one the Obama administration signed in 2015 and President Trump himself abandoned
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office and a spokesperson for Witkoff declined to comment Witkoff was in Paris for meetings on Russia and Ukraine before traveling to Rome for the Iran talks
Between the lines:
During those meetings, Witkoff stressed that the Trump administration's goal on Iran is to resolve the nuclear crisis through diplomatic means
and ensure Iran will no longer enrich uranium
Netanyahu and other hawks want a deal to eliminate Iran's nuclear program entirely — or else a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities
Trump, who initially set a two-month deadline for the negotiations, said on Thursday that he is in no rush to move forward with a military strike because he believes Iran "wants to talk"
