Israel's Spy Chief Reportedly in DC to Cajole Trump Back Into Iran War

The head of Israel's foreign intelligence agency was in Washington, DC on Friday, reportedly trying to persuade the Trump administration to renew the illegal US-Israeli war of choice against Iran.Mossad Director Roman Gofman was scheduled to meet with CIA Director John Ratcliffe in the nation's capital before traveling to Miami for talks with White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, according to reporting from Axios' Barak Ravid.Other sources, including The Jerusalem Post, confirmed that Gofman was in Washington to discuss the Iran War.Gofman's trip comes amid an increasingly public campaign by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to persuade US President Donald Trump to abandon diplomacy and return to military strikes on Iran.According to Axios, Trump has so far resisted Netanyahu's demands, instead favoring continued economic pressure and a naval blockade while leaving open the possibility of a negotiated agreement."I could end it immediately," Trump said Thursday of the 258-day war—a claim he has made dozens of times in one form or another.

"At the request of the nations that I'm looking to protect, we are doing it a little bit longer... a little bit more civilly."

The president claimed that leaders of countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain said they preferred that the US maintain the current approach rather than resume fighting.Netanyahu had reportedly been lobbying Trump to resume strikes immediately after the US midterm elections, in which the Iran War played a major role in Republicans' losing control of Congress, according to exit polls. Israel's domestic political turmoil may also be playing a part in Netanyahu's machinations.

His Likud-led far-right bloc lost its parliamentary majority in last month's election, and opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot has a mandate to try to form a new government.Some Israeli opposition figures fear Netanyahu could initiate another attack on Iran—or provoke an Iranian response—in an effort to sabotage Eisenkot's efforts and cling to power. Eisenkot, who met with Netanyahu for two hours Thursday, said Friday that he had warned the outgoing prime minister against taking advantage of the political transition to pursue military objectives.Trump's own rhetoric has become increasingly bellicose.

On Thursday, he said that he had "no hesitation" about using military force against Iran and that renewed strikes were possible "right now" if he decided to give the order.In a separate Truth Social post, he declared: "We don't need a deal with Iran. Those days have long since passed."Thousands of Iranians—including more than 3,500 civilians, at least 380 of them children—have been killed and tens of thousands more wounded by US and Israeli attacks since February 28, according to Iranian and international officials.

More than 20 US troops and dozens of people in Gulf Arab states have been killed in Iranian counterattacks.