Cohen Criticizes Kochavi’s Confrontational, Counterproductive Comments

Israel’s military Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi’s controversial speech from last week was still making headlines on Sunday, as the nation’s top intelligence official, Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, joined other security officials in criticizing the general’s remarks. Cohen, according to the Israeli daily Yediot Acharonot, believes Kochavi’s words were out of line, and that his position, while broadly accurate, should not have been articulated so publicly or directed so bluntly at President Joe Biden. In his prepared remarks on Tuesday, Kochavi warned the new White House administration that any return to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, which was rejected by former President Donald Trump and which Biden has indicated he will try to reenter, would be a “bad and wrong step.” Israel’s top commander urged Washington to push forward with the Maximum Pressure policy adopted by the previous administration, and also revealed he had instructed his military to prepare new operational plans to mitigate any potential nuclear buildup by Tehran. Cohen, meanwhile, will soon fly to Washington to privately discuss the Iranian issue with his American counterparts.