Mossad Chief Hands over Evidence of Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions to Washington

A photo published by Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid's Twitter account of his consultations with Mossad chief David Barnea last week (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A photo published by Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid's Twitter account of his consultations with Mossad chief David Barnea last week (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Mossad Chief Hands over Evidence of Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions to Washington

A photo published by Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid's Twitter account of his consultations with Mossad chief David Barnea last week (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A photo published by Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid's Twitter account of his consultations with Mossad chief David Barnea last week (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Mossad chief David Barnea concluded his visit to Washington, where he held talks with senior US officials and presented them with sensitive intelligence information confirming Iran’s dishonesty in its nuclear negotiations with the US and world powers, according to Tel Aviv political sources.

According to evidence carried by Barnea, Iran is pushing onward with its efforts to enrich uranium and its project for nuclear armament.

Barnea told US military and political officials that Israel fears that the free world has missed its chance and that Iran is on the verge of producing nuclear weapons.

The Mossad chief held meetings with CIA counterpart William Burns, FBI director Christopher Wray, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley and senior officials at the State Department.

“The enrichment of uranium to 60 % means that they now have the tools and can make at least one nuclear bomb,” Barnea told US officials, accusing Iran of deceiving the international community.

Israeli sources said that Barnea is working alongside other Israeli officials to persuade US and European officials to harden their positions on Iran and prevent it from reaching its nuclear ambitions.

Israeli officials are trying to get International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) member states to ratify a resolution against Iran considering a new report issued by the UN.

The UN report had confirmed that the amount of enriched uranium that Tehran possesses may be sufficient for producing a nuclear bomb if Iran chose to continue enriching uranium to 90 %.

A return to a nuclear deal with Iran is unlikely to take place before the US holds its midterm elections in November, a European diplomatic source told the Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.



US State Department Unveils Massive Overhaul of Agency with Reduction of Staff and Bureaus

US Vice President JD Vance (L) and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attend a meeting with El Salvador president in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 14 April 2025. (EPA)
US Vice President JD Vance (L) and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attend a meeting with El Salvador president in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 14 April 2025. (EPA)
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US State Department Unveils Massive Overhaul of Agency with Reduction of Staff and Bureaus

US Vice President JD Vance (L) and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attend a meeting with El Salvador president in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 14 April 2025. (EPA)
US Vice President JD Vance (L) and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attend a meeting with El Salvador president in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 14 April 2025. (EPA)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio unveiled a massive overhaul of the State Department on Tuesday, with plans to reduce staff in the US by 15% while closing and consolidating more than 100 bureaus worldwide as part of the Trump administration's "America First" mandate.

The reorganization plan, announced by Rubio on social media and detailed in documents obtained by The Associated Press, is the latest effort by the White House to reimagine US foreign policy and scale back the size of the federal government.

"We cannot win the battle for the 21st century with bloated bureaucracy that stifles innovation and misallocates scarce resources," Rubio said in a department-wide email obtained by The AP. "That is why, under the leadership of President Trump and at my direction, I am announcing a reorganization of the Department so it may meet the immense challenges of the 21st Century and put America First."

Plans include consolidating 734 bureaus and offices to 602 as well as transitioning 137 offices "to another location within the Department to increase efficiency," according to a fact sheet obtained by The AP.

It is unclear if the reorganization would be implemented through an executive order or other means. The plans come a week after The AP learned that the White House’s Office of Management and Budget proposed gutting the State Department’s budget by almost 50% and eliminating funding the United Nations and NATO headquarters.

The budget proposal was still in a highly preliminary phase and not expected to pass muster with Congress.

Ahead of the changes at the State Department, the Trump administration has slashing jobs and funding across agencies, from the Education Department to Health and Human Services.

On foreign policy, it’s already dismantled the US Agency for International Development and moved to defund so-called other "soft power" institutions like media outlets delivering objective news, often to authoritarian countries, including the Voice of America, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Radio Free Asia and Radio/TV Marti, which broadcasts to Cuba.