IDF Intel, Mossad Chiefs Recently Visit US in One-two Punch for Advice on Handling Iran
By YONAH JEREMY BOB
IDF intelligence chief Maj.-Gen. Shlomi Binder met with top US military officials on Tuesday as the US aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, arrived in the region.
IDF Intelligence chief Maj.-Gen. Shlomi Binder and Mossad Director David Barnea 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 and met with US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and held other critical national security meetings, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
His 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 Iran until more American forces were deployed in the region – both for offensive operations and for defending Israel.
Binder met with top US military officials this Tuesday and Wednesday, just as the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier group arrived in the region, completing much of the American mobilization of new forces into the Middle East over recent weeks.
The USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, is shown at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, California, US August 11, 2025.
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.
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.
In June 2025, Israel killed about 30 top Iranian military and intelligence officials and 11 nuclear scientists.
After that, Barnea issued a rare public warning to the Iranian regime, saying: “We will [continue to] be there, like we have been there.”
