Benjamin Netanyahu will visit Washington this week, amid fears in Israel that Donald Trump will strike a weak deal with Iran.

Mr Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, had been expected to travel to the US in mid-February for the first meeting of Mr Trump’s Board of Peace.

But the meeting was brought forward following the initial round of US-Iran talks in Oman on Friday. Jared Kushner, Mr Trump’s son-in-law, and Steve Witkoff, his special envoy, represented the US.

Israel is demanding that any agreement reached at the talks includes limitations on Tehran’s ballistic missile programme and its support for terrorist groups, rather than only its nuclear ambitions.

Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, has said he wants talks to extend well beyond Iran’s nuclear programme. However, there is unease in Israel that Mr Trump will ultimately favour a “narrow” deal on nuclear enrichment that will do nothing to address Israel’s other concerns.

While the talks were initially hailed as positive, Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, has since ruled out his country giving up uranium enrichment. Some observers suggest have said that may have been directed at appeasing hardliners at home, rather than a negotiating tactic.

On Monday, Iran’s atomic chief said he could agree to dilute the most highly enriched uranium in exchange for all sanctions being lifted.

Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organisation, said: “The possibility of diluting 60 per cent enriched uranium … depends on whether, in return, all sanctions are lifted or not.”

In Iran, several prominent reformist politicians have been arrested in a sweeping crackdown on those who criticised the regime’s deadly suppression of protests. The arrests target leaders of the Reformist Front, a coalition of 27 parties that supported president Masoud Pezeshkian in the 2024 elections.

It suggests hardliners are moving to silence any voices that might complicate nuclear negotiations or challenge the regime’s narrative about the protests and the talks.

Security forces detained Azar Mansouri, head of the Reformist Front, Ebrahim Asgharzadeh, Mohsen Aminzadeh, Javad Imam, spokesman for the coalition of moderate political groups, and Ali Shakouri Rad, a member of the Central Council of the Union of the Nation Party.

As thousands of protesters were killed last month, the Reformist Front issued a statement saying “a large part of Iranian citizens have lost their trust in all institutions and capacities that were supposed to be the refuge, representative and pursuer of their demands”.

The group called for the formation of an independent truth-finding committee and a “transparent and frank report” to the Iranian people.

It also demanded the supreme national security council explain “how, with the presence of this volume of security, intelligence and law enforcement institutions, according to their own official accounts, such a large number of ‘unknown armed elements’ were able to be active throughout the country and systematically and mercilessly kill thousands of Iranian citizens?”

That question struck at the heart of the Iranian regime’s narrative about the protests, implicitly challenging whether official accounts of the violence were accurate.

The Islamic Republic has blamed the deaths on foreign-backed “terrorists” and “unknown armed elements” rather than acknowledging security forces opened fire on protesters.

Mehdi Karroubi, whose son was arrested Monday, issued a statement after the crackdown saying Iran’s “dire situation is the direct result of destructive domestic and international interventions and policies” by Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader.

By detaining reformist leaders who supported president Pezeshkian’s election, authorities are signalling that even those within the political establishment will not be tolerated if they question the handling of dissent.

Meanwhile, Narges Mohammadi, who was awarded the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize, has been handed further prison sentences of seven and a half years by an Iranian court.

The US now has a considerable strike force close to Iran, having had insufficient assets in the region while protesters were being massacred by the regime last month. Initially wary, Israel is now thought to be enthusiastic about Mr Trump launching strikes.

Accompanying Mr Netanyahu on his visit this week is Brigadier General Omer Tischler, the next head of Israel’s air force. He will reportedly share Israeli intelligence with US counterparts to maximise the effectiveness of any strikes and improve coordination with the Israel Defence Forces.

Reports in the US suggest Mr Trump is cooling on the idea of military action because it would not necessarily lead to a decisive result – namely toppling the regime.

He is also being intensively lobbied by Gulf states, many of whom are key allies in his Gaza peace process and wider Board of Peace, not to launch a war. They fear the instability from a toppled or gravely damaged Tehran more than the regime in its current form.

Although Mr Kushner and Mr Witkoff are key allies when it comes to Gaza, are being seen in Israel as relatively doveish on Iran, with security officials speaking favourably of the more hawkish approach of Mr Rubio, and Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary.

On Monday, Kamal Kharazi, an adviser to Mr Khamenei, described the talks as “good”, but added: “America must have come to its senses that previous paths don’t lead anywhere and they must take new paths.”

The supreme leader continues to avoid making any public appearances that could make him vulnerable to an assassination attempt from the US or domestically. This includes failing to attend an Iranian air force event on Sunday that had been attended by the supreme leader for 37 years.