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Mossad Director Roman Gofman is in Washington for talks with senior Trump administration officials as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presses U.S. President Donald Trump to resume military operations against Iran, according to a report.
Gofman, one of Netanyahu's closest confidants, is meeting with CIA Director John Ratcliffe, while he is also expected to travel to Miami for talks with White House envoy Steve Witkoff, sources familiar with the matter told Axios.
Neither the Mossad, CIA nor White House has commented on the visit, the report noted.
Trump has so far rejected Netanyahu's calls to resume military action against Iran. The two leaders discussed the conflict during a phone conversation on Nov. 5, according to a U.S. official.
Instead, the U.S. president has backed maintaining the naval blockade and economic pressure campaign against Iran, aligning with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates while leaving room for a possible diplomatic agreement.
Trump defended that approach Thursday, arguing that Washington could end the conflict immediately but had chosen a longer and more restrained course at the request of its regional allies.
"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 said.
"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, meanwhile, has continued pushing for renewed military action, with the Mossad chief's Washington visit bringing the Israeli government's position directly into discussions with senior U.S. officials.
The diplomatic push also comes as Netanyahu faces mounting political uncertainty following Israel's Oct. 27 election, which cost him his parliamentary majority.
His political rival, Gadi Eisenkot, has received a mandate to form a new government, although it remains unclear whether he can secure the necessary support.
Israeli opposition leaders fear Netanyahu could launch another attack against Iran or provoke Tehran into striking Israel to disrupt Eisenkot's efforts to establish a new government, Israeli Channel 12 reported.
Netanyahu would lose power if Eisenkot succeeds in forming a government. The two politicians met Thursday for two hours, with Netanyahu briefing Eisenkot on the situation involving Iran.
However, a source close to Eisenkot indicated that he does not believe the current circumstances warrant immediate military action.
Eisenkot addressed the meeting in a statement Friday, saying he had met Netanyahu and the prime minister's military secretary during the week to discuss the government's conduct during the transition.
"I made it clear that I will not allow a lack of oversight of the prime minister's actions during the government transition," he said.
"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 added.
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