Mossad Chief Heads to Washington to Convey Demands on Iran’s Nuclear Issue

 A Russian worker walks past the Bushehr nuclear power plant, 1,200 km (746 miles) south of Tehran October 26, 2010. REUTERS/Mehr News Agency/Majid Asgaripour
A Russian worker walks past the Bushehr nuclear power plant, 1,200 km (746 miles) south of Tehran October 26, 2010. REUTERS/Mehr News Agency/Majid Asgaripour
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Mossad Chief Heads to Washington to Convey Demands on Iran’s Nuclear Issue

 A Russian worker walks past the Bushehr nuclear power plant, 1,200 km (746 miles) south of Tehran October 26, 2010. REUTERS/Mehr News Agency/Majid Asgaripour
A Russian worker walks past the Bushehr nuclear power plant, 1,200 km (746 miles) south of Tehran October 26, 2010. REUTERS/Mehr News Agency/Majid Asgaripour

Yossi Cohen, the head of the Israeli Mossad intelligence service, is putting the final touches on the program of his upcoming visit to Washington, which may include a meeting with the new US president, Joe Biden.

A report by the Israeli Channel 13 said that Cohen was expected to meet with Biden on his scheduled visit next month, to be the first Israeli official to meet the new president after taking office.

Cohen will also hold talks with other officials, including US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, and the head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), William Burns.

In Washington, Cohen will focus on the Iranian issue and the United States’ intention to rejoin the 2015 nuclear deal.

Reports in Tel Aviv said that Cohen was determined to present Israeli information and demands in exchange for any new agreement that Washington intends to conclude with Tehran. The demands seek to curb Iran’s regional ambitions, the reports said.

The Mossad chief is expected to offer to the Biden administration all the information that Israel has collected about the progress of the Iranian nuclear program, and to demand that any new agreement include stricter commitments from Tehran that would ensure its inability to obtain nuclear weapons.

Those comprise halting uranium enrichment, stopping all support for armed organizations, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah, and ending its military presence in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

The demands would also include, according to the reports, ceasing Iranian attacks against Israeli targets abroad and granting full access to the International Atomic Energy Agency to all the aspects of Iran’s nuclear program.

Antony Blinken, the new Secretary of State in the Biden administration, told US senators at a hearing last week that the State Department would hold consultations with Israel and other allies before raising the issue of returning to the nuclear deal with Iran.



27 Inmates are Still at Large Following an Israeli Airstrike during the 12-day War, Iran says

In this photo taken Tuesday, June 24, 2025, rescuers search through the rubble of a damaged section of Evin Prison following an Israeli strike the day before, in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Mostafa Roudaki/Mizan News Agency)
In this photo taken Tuesday, June 24, 2025, rescuers search through the rubble of a damaged section of Evin Prison following an Israeli strike the day before, in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Mostafa Roudaki/Mizan News Agency)
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27 Inmates are Still at Large Following an Israeli Airstrike during the 12-day War, Iran says

In this photo taken Tuesday, June 24, 2025, rescuers search through the rubble of a damaged section of Evin Prison following an Israeli strike the day before, in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Mostafa Roudaki/Mizan News Agency)
In this photo taken Tuesday, June 24, 2025, rescuers search through the rubble of a damaged section of Evin Prison following an Israeli strike the day before, in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Mostafa Roudaki/Mizan News Agency)

Iran said Tuesday 27 inmates were still at large after an Israeli airstrike last month targeted Evin prison in the north of the capital, Tehran, local media reported.

The airstrikes were part of Israel’s 12-day bombardment of Iran that killed about 1,100 people. while 28 were left dead in Israel in Iranian retaliatory strikes, The Associated Press said.

Judiciary’s news website, Mizanonline, quoted spokesman Asghar Jahangir as saying 75 prisoners had escaped following the strike, of which 48 were either recaptured or voluntarily returned. He said authorities will detain the others if they don't hand themselves over.

Jahangir said the escapees were prisoners doing time for minor offenses.

Iranian officials said the Israeli strike killed 71 people, but local media reported earlier in July that 80 were left dead at the time, including prison staff, soldiers, inmates and visiting family members. Authorities also said five inmates died.

It’s unclear why Israel targeted the prison. The Israeli Defense Ministry had said that 50 aircraft dropped 100 munitions on military targets “based on high-quality and accurate intelligence from the Intelligence Branch.”

The New York-based Center for Human Rights had criticized Israel for striking the prison, seen as a symbol of repression of any opposition, saying it violated the principle of distinction between civilian and military targets.