CIA Chief Makes Secret Visit to Israel to Downplay Iran Deal

The director of the United States Central Intelligence Agency John Brennan made a secret visit to Israel last week for talks with Israeli intelligence officials over the Iran nuclear deal, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported Tuesday.

Two senior Israeli officials told Haaretz on the condition of anonymity that Brennan met with the head of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad Tamir Pardo, the head of the military intelligence as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The meetings, according to the paper, revolved around the Iran deal with the U.S. and the world powers as well as Tehran's involvement in the conflicts in Syria and Iraq.

Branden's visit comes at a critical time, almost a month before Iran and the world powers are expected to agree a comprehensive deal on Tehran's program. A final agreement is expected on June 30.

The White House's is attempting to calm the Israeli opposition against the Iran deal.

Capitalizing on fears of a nuclear Iran was one of Netanyahu's effective campaign strategies for winning this year's general elections in Israel in March.

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The U.S. and Israel have seen months of a diplomatic standoff as the U.S. administration aims to spearhead an agreement on the deal which it sees as the only option to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons. However, the Israeli government and Netanyahu reject the deal and have been seeking to stop it.

The Israeli prime minister angered President Barack Obama when he brought his international campaign against the Iran deal to the floor of the U.S. Congress in early March, weeks before his party was re-elected at home.

Netanyahu then appealed to lawmakers at the majority-Republican House of Representatives to vote against any possible deal with Iran.

Today's report about the secret visit comes as chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey met Tuesday with high-level Israeli army officials.

He reiterated the U.S.'s longstanding commitment to supporting Israel's security and how Israel's military advantage on neighboring nations will always benefit from Washington's assistance.

"Israel and the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) have no greater friend on the face of the earth than the US military," Dempsey told Israeli military chief of staff Lieutenant General Gadi Eisenkot.

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