Head of Israeli Mossad visits Washington for talks on Iran

The head of Mossad David Barnea travelled to the United States on Sunday to discuss Iran's nuclear program with US officials, local media reported.

Barnea is expected to share Israeli intelligence on the state of Iran's nuclear activities and to push Israel's request for intensified sanctions against Iran.

"Iran will not have nuclear weapons, not in the coming years, not ever. That is my promise, that is Mossad's promise," Barnea said on Thursday at a ceremony for Mossad employees in Jerusalem.

Ahead of his visit to Washington, Barnea stressed that if an agreement is reached between the US and Iran, Israel would not be bound by it and would continue to try to undermine the nuclear program.

The Mossad carried out several sabotage operations against Iranian nuclear project, including destroying the centrifuge hall at the Iranian Natanz nuclear facility in April.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz is also scheduled to visit Washington on Wednesday to meet his counterpart, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for talks on Iran. 

Iran and major powers started talks in April to return back to the nuclear deal they concluded in 2015, which was abandoned by former US President Donald Trump three years ago. But the talks stopped after the election of Iran's hardline President Ebrahim Raisi in June.

They resumed in Vienna last week after a five-months freeze but ended without a deal. Iran blamed the failure of negotiations on the reluctance of the United States to lift sanctions.