Roman Gofman, the new head of the Mossad, met with CIA Director John Ratcliffe during his recent trip to Washington to talk about the war in Iran and the latest developments on the Iranian nuclear program, Axios reported on Wednesday.
This was Gofman's first trip to the US since being named chief of the Mossad back in June.
According to Axios' sources, the visit aimed to coordinate the US and Israel ahead of the ongoing negotiations with Iran and the nuclear issue.
The report also noted that Ratcliffe was among the most pessimistic US officials on the Memorandum of Understanding signed with Iran, warning that the Iranians would have a different interpretation of the deal than the US.
Axios said that both the CIA and the Mossad refused to comment on the meeting.
Gofman's first month as head of the Mossad
Gofman was named chief of the Mossad on June 2, after a lengthy legal battle that required a ruling of the High Court of Justice in order to be approved.
His selection was initially approved by the Senior Appointments Advisory Committee, which is tasked with examining whether any issues of integrity, conduct, or propriety could render an appointment improper.
The appointment then faced intense legal hurdles, with two petitions filed against it. One was filed by Ori Elmakayes and the Movement for Integrity in Government, and the other by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel and Forum Homat Magen LeIsrael.
Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara also opposed the appointment before the court, arguing that the committee majority’s renewed approval still could not serve as a valid basis for Netanyahu’s decision.
On June 1, the High Court of Justice rejected petitions challenging his appointment, with only Justice Dafna Barak-Erez dissenting, saying significant questions remained open and should still be examined before the appointment takes effect.
Sarah Ben-Nun and Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.