IDF Intelligence Chief Maj.-Gen. Shlomi Binder and Mossad Director David Barnea have both recently visited the US to present a one-two punch for advice about how to handle Iran.
Barnea landed in the US on January 16, meeting with US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff and a variety of other critical national security meetings, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
The Mossad chief's visit came almost immediately after the critical call between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump on January 14, in which, according to foreign sources, Netanyahu urged Trump to delay attacking the Islamic Republic until more American forces were deployed in the region, both for offensive operations and for defending Israel.
Binder met with top US military officials on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, just as the US aircraft carrier, USS Abraham Lincoln, arrived in the region, completing much of the American mobilization of new forces into the Middle East over recent weeks.
Sharing intelligence on potential Iran targets
According to foreign sources, Israeli officials came to share intelligence about potential targets across Iran, while the Saudis are trying to offer a diplomatic solution.
While the IDF's focus tends to be from the perspective of what American aerial power can achieve against a wide array of Iranian military targets and a variety of macro issues related to the regime's sources of power, the Mossad's expertise tends to be related to the nuclear issue, and providing support and analysis relating to the Iranian street and the balance of power between the regime and opposition forces.
After June 2025, Barnea even issued a rare public warning to the Iranian regime that "we will [continue to] be there, like we have been there."
In June 2025, Israel killed around 30 top Iranian military and intelligence officials and 11 nuclear scientists.