CIA Director John Brennan traveled in secret to Israel last week to discuss ongoing talks with Iran over its nuclear program, according to a published report.
While in Israel on Thursday, Brennan met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and National Security Adviser Yossi Cohen, two anonymous senior Israeli officials told Haaretz.
In addition to discussing the deadline for a nuclear deal on July 1, talks also touched on Iran’s latest activities in the region, specifically with Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
Though the trip was reportedly planned months ago, it came at a critical time for Israel as tensions between it and the U.S. over Tehran’s nuclear program are expected to bump back up as the deadline looms.
Brennan said on CBS days before his visit that tensions between Obama and Netanyahu were not hurting their intelligence relationship.
“There is a very, very strong relationship between United States and Israel on the intelligence, security and military fronts. It’s one of the great things, I think, about our system; there can be policy differences between our governments, but the intelligence and security professionals know that we have an obligation to keep our countries safe and secure,” Brennan said during the May 31 interview.
“And so, although there’s been great debate about the Iranian nuclear negotiations that are ongoing, the CIA, NSA and other intelligence community entities are working very closely with their Israeli as well as other counterparts,” he added.
U.S. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey is in Israel as the guest of Israel Defense Forces chief Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot. Dempsey is scheduled to meet with Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, where talks are expected to focus mainly on Iran.
