The head of Israel's intelligence agency Mossad, Roman Gofman, is currently in the US for meetings with senior Trump administration officials over the ongoing conflict with Iran. His visit, reported by Axios, comes at a time when outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is urging US President Donald Trump to resume military action against Iran. However, Trump has so far resisted the pressure and hinted at diplomacy to end the conflict.
Mossad Chief Holds Talks With Senior US Officials
According to Axios report, citing sources, Gofman is meeting CIA Director John Ratcliffe in Washington. The development is significant as Gofman, who is considered one of Netanyahu's closest confidants, is also expected to travel to Miami to meet White House envoy Steve Witkoff. The meetings come amid reported differences between Netanyahu and Trump over how to deal with Iran in the conflict that has been ongoing since February 28.
Trump And Netanyahu's Differing Sides
While the Israeli prime minister wants the US to restart military operations, Trump has so far declined to return to combat and explore diplomatic paths. He (Trump) has reportedly backed an approach supported by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to end the conflict. The strategy involves continuing the naval blockade and economic pressure on Iran while giving diplomatic efforts more time to produce a possible agreement.
Explaining his position on Iran, Trump said on Thursday, "I could end it immediately. At the request of the nations that I'm looking to protect, we are doing it a little bit longer way, a little bit more civilly." He also said several Gulf countries wanted the current approach to continue, arguing that Iran was already facing increasing difficulties.
"Saudi Arabia has asked me to please just let it be the way it is now for a while, because (Iran is) disintegrating. Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, all of them would much prefer the waiting period," Trump added.
Netanyahu Faces Political Uncertainty
The developments come at a politically sensitive time for Netanyahu, who recently lost his parliamentary majority in the October 27 election. His opponent, Yashar Party leader Gadi Eisenkot, has received a mandate to try to form a new government. While Eisenkot has 28 days to prove majority, reports suggest that Israeli opposition leaders are concerned that Netanyahu could order an attack on Iran or provoke an Iranian response against Israel to weaken Eisenkot's efforts to establish a new government.
Against this backdrop, Netanyahu met Eisenkot on Thursday for a two-hour discussion and briefed him on the situation involving Iran. Following the meeting, Eisenkot stressed that he would closely monitor the prime minister's decisions during the transition period. "For me, Israel's security takes precedence over every other consideration and must never be used as a means of political capital. This is also what I expect of all officeholders," Eisenkot said.
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