After Ynet reported on Sunday that Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar traveled to the United States to warn the FBI and the Pentagon of simmering tensions with the Palestinians, IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi also jetted off to hold highly sensitive meetings with top U.S. defense officials.
And so did the Israeli military's intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, who has been in the United States for the last four days and shared sensitive intelligence collected in Israel with his U.S. counterparts.
Missile attack in Iraq
All in all, it seems like U.S.-Israeli security ties remain strong as ever, as well as both nations' Middle East interests, but Jerusalem is growing increasingly wary of Washington's behavior in the region.
Overnight Sunday, the Iranians attacked American facilities in northern Iraq with missiles, and not drones as customary, and the Revolutionary Guards claimed it came in retaliation for the death of two of its senior officers killed in a recent attack near Damascus attributed to Israel.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday that Iran has warned Iraqi authorities several times that "its territory should not be used by third parties to lead attacks against Iran."
No Americans were harmed in the attack, and it is likely that Israel warned the U.S. in advance. But so, the Iranians' message was loud and clear.
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Building, supposedly belonging to Israeli forces, targeted by Iran in the missile attack in Iraq
(Photo: Reuters)
The Americans chose not to respond, like back when the IDF allegedly attacked in Syria and prompted the Iranians to launch an offensive on the U.S. base in Al-Tanf — these signs of weakness raise much alarm in Jerusalem.
The Iranians were unsuccessful thus far in their attempts to strike Israeli targets, and keep claiming that Israeli attacks against them using drones have originated from that area.
They may be right, but in any case, the campaign against them is only in its diapers, and if a new nuclear deal between world powers and Tehran is signed, unfreezing tens of billions of dollars in Iranian assets, the challenges posed to Israel will become so much more complex, especially when the Americans display such ineptitude