Israeli media: US Central Intelligence Agency chief to visit Israel for talks on Iran

An Israeli media outlet says that William Burns, the director of the US Central Intelligence Agency, will visit Israel on Tuesday, August 9. 

The Israeli news website "Vala" has written, citing its "informed sources," that one of the topics of this meeting, which will be Mr. Burns' first visit to Israel as CIA director, will be a discussion about the Islamic Republic of Iran.

During this trip, William Burns will meet with his Israeli counterpart, David Barnia, who has been heading Mossad since the beginning of June, as well as with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and some senior Israeli military officials.

The trip comes about 10 days after a deadly drone attack on an Israeli merchant ship near the Gulf of Oman and recent rocket attacks on Israel from southern Lebanon. The United States, Britain and Israel all blame Iran for the attack. Iran has denied the accusations.

According to the Vala website, the continuation of indirect nuclear talks between Iran and the United States after the Ebrahim Raisi government takes office in Iran will be among the issues discussed by Mr. Benz and Israeli officials.

In other news, as verbal tensions between Iranian and Israeli officials have escalated in recent days and weeks, Hossein Salami, commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, claimed on Monday, August 8, that the Islamic Republic was "waiting for a wrong move" from Israel so that we could "destroy them." He also said, of course, that "in today's world, words have become very powerful" and that "today words are fired like missiles and bullets."

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warned Iran and its proxies, Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, about their actions against Israel during a cabinet meeting on Sunday.

Source: Voice of America