Mossad Director Gofman Is in Washington Amid Push to Resume Iran Combat

Mossad Director Roman Gofman is in Washington on Friday for discussions with senior U.S. officials about the war with Iran, Axios reported, citing three people familiar with the trip. The Jerusalem Post, citing separate sources, also said Gofman had arrived in the capital. Both outlets said he is meeting CIA Director John Ratcliffe and is expected to go to Miami to meet Steve Witkoff, the White House’s Middle East envoy. Axios said Mossad, the CIA and the White House declined to comment.

Gofman took over the Israeli intelligence service in June. He is a close ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and earlier served as his military secretary. Axios reported that the trip comes as Netanyahu is urging President Donald Trump to return to military operations against Iran. A U.S. official told the outlet that Trump has so far turned that down.

Trump has instead kept in place a naval blockade and an economic pressure campaign, an approach Axios said is also favored by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. In a Thursday interview with Stephen A. Smith, Trump said, “I could end it immediately. At the request of the nations that I’m looking to protect, we are doing it a little bit longer way, a little bit more civilly.” He said Saudi Arabia had asked him to “just let it be the way it is now for a while, because [Iran is] disintegrating,” and that Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE and Bahrain “would much prefer the waiting period.”

The same day, Trump wrote on Truth Social, “We don’t need a deal with Iran. Those days have long since passed,” and told Vice President JD Vance to shift his focus from diplomatic talks to crime and corruption in Democratic-led states, NBC News reported.

Netanyahu lost his parliamentary majority in Israel’s Oct. 27 election, and his opponent, Gadi Eisenkot, has received a mandate to try to form a new government. Axios reported that opposition leaders worry Netanyahu could try to strike Iran, or provoke an Iranian strike on Israel, to undercut that effort. A person close to Eisenkot told the outlet he does not believe the situation requires immediate military action. In a Friday statement, Eisenkot said Israel’s security “must never be used as a means of political capital” and that he “will not allow a lack of oversight” during the transition.

The Axios account circulated Friday on X, including in a post by the aggregator Disclose.tv, which credited the newsroom.

Commentary: Kacee R. Allen

This is a serious national security concern for the United States. In my view, Israel’s leadership has not been open to a real diplomatic path. Every time Washington starts to get close to one, that effort gets undercut. That is my reading of the record, not a formal finding. Trump is now holding to a “waiting period” and a blockade, at the request of Gulf countries. Netanyahu is still pushing him to go back to war, and he has sent one of his closest officials to Washington and Miami this week.

Those officials are here on behalf of their government’s interests, not ours. They want the United States to put more of our troops, money and resources on the line to defend Israel, while Americans are dealing with problems at home. Pump prices have eased some in recent days, but they remain high. AAA put the national average for regular gasoline at $3.87 a gallon on Friday, nearly 80 cents above this time last year, and the most expensive November on record. The U.S. Energy Information Administration has tied this year’s elevated oil and gasoline costs to the Iran conflict, including shipping disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz. I do not think we should be lobbied into widening this war to serve another government’s agenda.

Editor’s note: Axios first published this account; The Jerusalem Post cited its own sources. Trump’s Thursday remarks were checked against The Jerusalem Post and NBC News. Gasoline figures come from AAA and the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The story circulated Friday in posts on X, including from Disclose.tv, an aggregator. Allen’s commentary is his opinion. No interviews were conducted for this story.