WASHINGTON — The head of Israel's Mossad spy agency, Roman Gofman, was in Washington on Friday for talks with senior Trump administration officials about the war with Iran, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presses President Donald Trump to resume military action against Tehran.
Gofman met CIA Director John Ratcliffe in Washington and was expected to travel on to Miami to meet White House envoy Steve Witkoff, Axios reported, citing three sources familiar with the visit. The Jerusalem Post reported the same meetings, citing its own sources. CNN also reported the visit and said Gofman was expected to meet Ratcliffe.
Gofman is one of Netanyahu's closest confidants. He took over the Mossad in June 2026, after two years as the prime minister's military secretary, the job that sits between the prime minister and Israel's armed forces and intelligence agencies. A career army officer who rose through the armored corps to the rank of major general, he succeeded David Barnea, who had led the agency for five years.
What Netanyahu wants, according to the sources
Axios reported that Netanyahu has been pressing Trump to resume the military campaign against Iran, and that Trump has so far turned him down. A U.S. official told Axios the two leaders discussed the war in a phone call on November 5.
Instead of new strikes, Trump has backed the position of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which favor keeping the American naval blockade and economic pressure on Iran in place while a deal is explored. "Saudi Arabia has asked me to please just let it be the way it is now for a while," Trump said on Thursday, adding that Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain also preferred to wait.
Trump's own position shifted within the same day. On Thursday he wrote that the United States does not need a deal with Iran and told Vice President JD Vance to turn his attention to domestic issues. In a radio interview released the same night, he said he would have "no hesitation" about ordering further strikes on Iran and could do it "right now." His Sunday and Monday remarks had pointed the other way: he said he was holding off on new strikes for now, while keeping the blockade in place.
The unilateral strike question
CNN, citing two Israeli sources, reported that Netanyahu has even considered a unilateral Israeli strike on Iran, meaning an attack Israel would carry out on its own. CNN said he would still need approval from Trump to carry it out. No other outlet in Friday's reporting confirmed that detail.
A solo Israeli strike would be a far bigger step than joining an American campaign. Israeli media have reported that Israel's military does not see an urgent operational need to strike Iran now, and that defense officials would prefer any renewed campaign to be carried out alongside the United States. Channel 13 in Israel reported that the army told both Netanyahu and his rival Gadi Eisenkot that there is no immediate urgency for an Israeli strike, but that Israel should join the fighting if Trump renews American attacks.
Eisenkot demands a say
The visit came during a political transition in Israel. Netanyahu lost his parliamentary majority in the October 27 election, and Eisenkot, a former military chief of staff who leads the Yashar party, holds the mandate to form the next government.
Eisenkot demanded security briefings from Netanyahu and received one on Thursday. The Times of Israel reported that Netanyahu failed to convince him of the need for an immediate strike on Iran. Eisenkot said on Friday that he had met Netanyahu and his military secretary this week and "made it clear that I will not allow a lack of oversight" of the prime minister's actions during the transition. He has also warned, in a public letter this week, that sending forces into action without a direct and immediate threat "could have devastating consequences for Israeli democracy." Netanyahu's office rejected that warning and said Eisenkot was trying to politicize national security.
No official comment
Neither government confirmed the trip in public. The Mossad, the CIA and the White House all declined to comment on the visit, and CNN said it had also sought comment from the Israeli embassy in Washington. Nothing was announced about what, if anything, was agreed.
Where the war stands
The United States and Israel launched the war on Iran on February 28, 2026. Iran answered with missile and drone attacks and by closing the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway that carries about a fifth of the world's oil. The fighting has since settled into a blockade and a grinding exchange of claims and smaller strikes. On Friday, Iran said it had attacked an American radar in Bahrain. The U.S. military called that claim false and said American forces had shot down two Iranian attack drones launched toward Bahrain.
Israel's security cabinet, the body whose approval Israeli law requires for a war or a major operation, is expected to meet on Sunday for the first time in more than a month, according to The Times of Israel. Whether Gofman's talks in Washington and Miami change Trump's position, and whether Israel acts alone if they do not, are the two questions now hanging over the war.
Reporting note: This story is based on reporting by Axios (the first report of the visit, citing three sources familiar with it), CNN, The Jerusalem Post, The Times of Israel, The Insight International and Israeli broadcasters Channel 12 and Channel 13, and on biographical records for Roman Gofman confirmed by Reuters. The claim that Netanyahu has considered a unilateral Israeli strike on Iran rests on CNN's reporting alone, citing two Israeli sources, and is attributed to CNN in the text. No government involved confirmed the visit or commented on its substance.
