Ex-Mossad head denies "breach of confidentiality"

The former head of Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad, has refuted the accusations that he violated the country’s confidentiality rules when he attacked the government’s policy for dealing with the Iranian nuclear issue. Meir Dagan explained that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Minister of Defence, Ehud Barak, themselves had said that all options are possible when it comes to the subject of Iran; that statement caused a public debate.

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In a report in Hebrew-language media outlets on Thursday, Dagan said, “The picture is complex and we must think about what will happen in the next day.” Nevertheless, the ex-Mossad chief claimed that he is ready to stand trial for what he said. Finance Minister Yuval Staanats had called earlier for Dagan to be held accountable for his statements which had, he claimed, broken the rules of confidentiality applied to everyone in security circles, including former officials, journalists and government ministers. In response, Dagan hinted that Staanats himself had previously made statements “which may also be considered a breach of confidentiality rules”.

Dagan has criticized Netanyahu’s stance on Iran in a number of public discussions. “The idea of the Israeli Air Force attacking Iranian nuclear facilities is a stupid idea as well,” he said, noting that any Israeli attack on Tehran would “spark a regional war”.