The military censor cleared for publication today (Sunday) that Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir visited Washington over the weekend and met with senior officials in the U.S. defense establishment.
During the visit, Zamir held a series of security coordination meetings with his counterparts at the top of the Pentagon. The discussions focused on strategic security issues, against the backdrop of regional developments.
Zamir’s visit took place shortly after the head of the IDF Intelligence Directorate, Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder, returned from a three-day professional visit to Washington.
The purpose of Binder’s visit was to deepen intelligence cooperation with American counterparts, as well as to convey operational insights from Israel’s most recent operation, “Rising Lion."
Meanwhile, The New York Times reported in the past 24 hours that U.S. President Donald Trump and his advisers have recently been considering options for strike plans against Iran that are broader than those discussed in recent weeks.
Among the options being examined are raids by special commando units on nuclear sites that have not yet been destroyed, aimed at causing significant damage to Iran’s missile and nuclear programs or weakening the office of the Supreme Leader.
It was also reported that Trump is adopting toward Iran an approach similar to the one he used with Venezuela, which includes building up forces near the country and continuing threats, though his advisers find it hard to believe Iran will accept his terms.
Another option under consideration is strikes against military and leadership targets that would create turmoil and instability, potentially enabling conditions for the replacement of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei by security forces or other elements.