Israel Built Its Case for War With Iran on New Intelligence. The U.S. Didn’t Buy It.

 https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/israel-built-its-case-for-war-with-iran-on-new-intelligence-the-u-s-didnt-buy-it-55592e81?mod=trending_now_news_2

American spy agencies stand by their assessment that Iran hasn’t decided to build a nuclear weapon, but Trump now says Tehran is ‘very close.’

Before launching its attack on Iran last week, Israel provided the U.S. with intelligence it deemed alarming: Tehran was conducting renewed research useful for a nuclear weapon, including on an explosive triggering system.

But U.S. officials briefed by the Israelis weren’t convinced that the information pointed to a decision by Tehran to build a bomb, according to a senior intelligence official, another U.S. official and two congressional aides familiar with the discussions. 

The gap between Israel’s assessment of Iran’s nuclear program and that of the U.S. helps explain why the two allies haven’t been aligned in recent days on dealing with Tehran.