Mossad chief in Washington as Netanyahu presses Trump to resume Iran strikes

Mossad chief in Washington

Roman Gofman, director of Israel's Mossad, is in Washington on Friday, 13 November, for talks with senior Trump administration officials about the war against Iran. Axios, citing three informed sources, reported that he will meet CIA director John Ratcliffe in the capital. One source said he is also expected to travel to Miami to see White House envoy Steve Witkoff. Gofman is one of Benjamin Netanyahu's closest associates, and the visit comes while the Israeli prime minister keeps pressing Donald Trump to resume military operations against Tehran. The Mossad, the CIA and the White House declined to comment.

Trump holds off on renewed strikes

Trump has so far rejected Israeli pressure to resume fighting and has preferred to keep the naval blockade and economic pressure on Iran, a course that matches requests from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Axios reports he is also weighing whether a deal with Tehran is possible. In an interview with Stephen A. Smith at the White House, which Al Jazeera reported, Trump said Saudi Arabia had asked him to leave things as they are for a while. He added that Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE and Bahrain had also preferred the current approach, but said he was not sure he agreed. In the same interview he claimed he could destroy Iran's energy infrastructure, bridges and production plants within three days. On Thursday, 12 November, Trump wrote on Truth Social that the United States does not need an agreement with Iran, claiming Washington holds Iran's money and the Strait of Hormuz. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the economic pressure on Iran is producing results and that its effects will grow.

Netanyahu and the caretaker government

Netanyahu lost his parliamentary majority after the election of 27 October, and his rival Gadi Eisenkot, a former chief of staff, has been given the mandate to form a new government. Until that cabinet is formed, which may take several months, Netanyahu leads a caretaker government but keeps the power to take decisions on military operations. Al Jazeera's reporting, cited by RMF, says he has ordered the army to raise its combat readiness ahead of a possible new strike. On 12 November he met Eisenkot for about two hours and briefed him on the Iran situation. Axios reports that opposition leaders fear Netanyahu could order an attack on Iran, or provoke a military response from Tehran, to block Eisenkot's attempt to form a government that would remove him from power. A source close to Eisenkot said the opposition leader does not believe the current situation requires immediate military action against Iran.

Background and key dates

Gofman took over at the Mossad in June. In July he made an earlier trip to Washington, where he met Ratcliffe to discuss the Iran war and developments in Tehran's nuclear program. According to a US official, Trump and Netanyahu discussed the Iran war in a phone call on 5 November. The chart below lays out the dates that the reporting ties to the current pressure campaign.