TEHRAN – Since Iran and the U.S. began indirect nuclear negotiations seven weeks ago, Western media outlets have been turning up every now and then to paint Israel as a potential saboteur of the talks, and Washington as their defender.

These reports suggest that the Trump administration wants a deal with Iran. He wants to terminate sanctions in exchange for limitations on Iran’s nuclear program. In the pursuit of this agreement, there are several deadlocks that have kept the two sides from reaching an endpoint. The most important one is uranium enrichment, a right Iran insists it will never give up, and the U.S. wants gone. Western media says if Iran does not agree to stop uranium enrichment as part of a deal with the U.S., then Israel would attack Iran’s nuclear sites on its own, even against Washington’s objections.

This is simply not true. Israel cannot carry out strikes against Iran’s underground and heavily fortified nuclear facilities, which are protected by advanced air defense systems, without American help, or even lead. Furthermore, recent remarks by Trump indicate that both the U.S. and Israel share the same goal: dismantling Iran’s nuclear program. The difference is that one has chosen to play the role of the bad cop, while the other plays the good cop.

Speaking at the White House on Wednesday, Trump briefly outlined his vision of a deal that is “very strong, where we can go in with inspectors. We can take whatever we want. We can blow up whatever we want. But nobody getting killed,” he said.

Trump’s vision is essentially that of Israel. The idea is simple: if Iran voluntarily dismantles its nuclear program, there would supposedly be no need for military strikes, avoiding retaliation and the severe repercussions that could follow for both Israel and the U.S.