Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, Benjamin Netanyahu has on several occasions banned Israeli intelligence and security chiefs from meeting officials and members of the US Congress. Axios reveals this, citing American and Israeli sources, underlining that this revelation shows how the Israeli prime minister wants to control what Americans, politicians and diplomats, hear from Israel, at a time when his government appears deeply divided on the strategy to follow and is growing tension with Washington.
In particular, three weeks ago Netanyahu prohibited the heads of Mossad and Shin Bet from meeting Marco Rubio, the Republican who is vice president of the Senate Intelligence Committee, who had requested a meeting with the Israeli 007 during his visit to Israel during the which Netanyahu met.
Interviews
Iran has meanwhile confirmed that it is holding indirect negotiations with the United States in Oman. Quoted by the Mehr news agency, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Saeed Iravani, said: “These negotiations are an ongoing process,” they are not the first and they will not be the last. Tehran’s representative did not provide details on the content of the talks, which, as revealed yesterday by Axios, would concern the attempt to avoid a further regional escalation of the war in Gaza. Joe Biden’s advisor for the Middle East, Brett McGurk, and interim envoy for Iran Abram Paley.
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