The 13th head of the Mossad.. How does he deal with the Iranian nuclear? What challenges await him in Washington?

During the ceremonies marking the termination of Yossi Cohen's position as head of the Israeli Intelligence and Special Missions Service (Mossad) and the entry of his deputy, David Barnea, to succeed him, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chose to make public the primary mission of the new Mossad chief, saying, "Barnea's mission will be to prevent Iran from possession of a nuclear bomb," referring to the challenge of US President Joe Biden's administration, with the resumption of the fifth round of the Vienna talks with a view to Washington's return to the nuclear agreement.

Netanyahu's statements do not come out of nowhere, as Barnea takes office at a time when Iran is close to becoming a "nuclear state" according to Israeli estimates, and therefore the new Mossad chief will have to build trust and strengthen relations with the Americans, especially since the Biden administration is reluctant to cooperate with Netanyahu, who relapsed in the “guardian of the walls” campaign and the Israeli aggression on Gaza. These developments oblige Barnea to intensify the collection of intelligence information to prevent the escalation of Hamas and Islamic Jihad activity in Palestine.

Barnea assumes his duties as head of the Mossad, and he stands at a dramatic crossroads in designing Israel's secret security. These days, the Americans are preparing to return to the nuclear agreement and lift sanctions on Iran, and the Mossad will give priority to this issue in order to thwart Iran's efforts to acquire nuclear weapons and capabilities Long range missile.

Barnea's biography and career in the security establishment and the army?

Barnea was born on March 29, 1965 in Ashkelon (Ashkelon). At the age of 15, he joined the military boarding school in Tel Aviv, motivated by the desire to develop leadership and combat capabilities in the occupation army.

He is 56 years old, married and has 4 children. He joined the Mossad in 1996, and graduated in various positions, until in 2019 he was appointed deputy head of Mossad Cohen, who will end his position on June 1, 2021.

In 1983 he enlisted in the Israeli army as a fighter in the Reconnaissance Regiment of the General Staff unit (Sayeret Matkal). To train its personnel in all kinds of fighting, especially what Israel calls "fighting terrorism".

In 1992 he obtained a master's degree in business administration from New York University, and worked as a senior business manager in an investment bank in Israel.

When he joined the Mossad, he joined the information-gathering officers course and was appointed to the Operations Department, where he apprenticed and advanced to positions through the supervision and follow-up of the outgoing President Cohen, who chose him as his deputy and recommended Netanyahu that Barnea be his heir to the position.

He assumed command of operations units in Israel and abroad, and between 2013 and 2019 he commanded the "Tsumit" division in the Mossad, which supervises the recruitment of agents from all over the world. The division under his leadership was awarded 4 awards from the Israeli army, but without disclosing background and reasons for it.

Why did Barnea's Mossad division receive awards from the Israeli army?

In fact, despite the secrecy and secrecy, in the years in which Barnea commanded the "Tsumit" division, he was also responsible for major, major and fateful operations in the history of the Mossad, including Including those that brought to Israel the dramatic intelligence information about the Iranian nuclear file and the strengthening of Hezbollah's military capability, as it is estimated, according to Israeli journalist and analyst Yossi Melman, that Barnea oversaw the assassination of the prominent Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.

Netanyahu alluded to the role of Barnea, who is the 13th head of the Mossad, to the great operations of the intelligence service and the special missions, by saying, "Every operation you carry out is more daring, creative, and crazier than the previous one," adding, "James Bond is a puppet compared to you, there is no movie in the world." parallels and compares Mossad operations.

What is Barnea's agenda in the Mossad?

What is not expected to change with Barnea's assumption of office is the Mossad's agenda, and the efforts exerted to collect information about Iran's nuclear program and thwart its military components, in addition to carrying out operations if necessary. According to Melman.

Melman believes that intelligence gathering, anti-terrorism operations, special operations against Hezbollah plans and jihadist organizations against Israeli and Jewish targets around the world, and the protection of Jewish institutions around the world will be at the forefront of Barnea's agenda, along with the consolidation of Mossad's relations with intelligence agencies. other countries, as well as with countries and organizations with which Israel does not have diplomatic relations. Note that the Mossad currently has contacts with 150 countries and intelligence entities.

What are the tasks and challenges facing the new head of the Mossad?

The new head of the Mossad will have to find new ways and means to deal with the Iranian nuclear file and Tehran's missile capabilities, so that he will have to build intelligence activities and operations against Iran according to Al-Qaeda and quarantine The foundation laid by his predecessor Cohen, both in terms of improving mechanisms for gathering intelligence and operational and operational capabilities against the Iranian nuclear project.

According to the military analyst of the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, Ron Ben Yishai, Barnea was Cohen's long arm in everything related to attacking Iranian targets, and achieved with him what he considered "amazing achievements", especially after the bombings at the Natanz centrifuge facility that Tehran attributes to the Mossad. .

This matter, according to the estimates of the military analyst, requires Barnea to innovate and develop new mechanisms to deal with the Iranian nuclear program, as well as dispensing with some methods of operation, and taking more effective precautions than before.

The problems facing the head of the Mossad with regard to the nuclear file and the Iranian missile project?

The main problem is that the nuclear project and the missile project that will carry the nuclear bomb to its targets, according to Israeli estimates, continue to advance at the pace that the Iranians want. As a result, Iran is already close to being a "nuclear state" and is about a year and a half away from an initial nuclear capability to include an active nuclear explosives facility.

This problem will be exacerbated, from the Israeli point of view, when the United States and Iran return to the 2015 nuclear deal, after former US President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2018 and imposed economic sanctions on Iran.

It is likely that the Americans will limit the activity and operations of the Mossad by detonating nuclear facilities and assassinating Iranian scientists, which are operations carried out by the Mossad in the past, and it may wish to carry out such operations in the future.

How will the head of the Mossad deal with the US administration?

With America's expected return to the nuclear deal, Barnea will first have to build trust, develop and strengthen relations with the US intelligence community and with senior Biden administration officials, and work together with the White House By formulating a strategy and working methods agreed upon by Washington and Tel Aviv.

The basis for strengthening cooperation and trust is due to the fact that Israel will need American military and political assistance if Iran approaches nuclear capability, and will need to act jointly or separately but with American support.

Internal obstacles that may hinder Barnea's duties in dealing with the Iranian nuclear?

The Iranian nuclear file is one of Barnea's most important tasks, but it will not be easy if Netanyahu appoints Cohen (the outgoing head of the Mossad) as his special envoy for Iranian affairs , as the Biden administration is reluctant to cooperate with Netanyahu, and Cohen, no matter how talented he is, is very attached to Netanyahu.

Accordingly, if Netanyahu becomes prime minister, Cohen will also be somewhat of a "parallel Mossad chief" and Barnea must take this into consideration, and he may be afraid to develop his own initiatives and operations, because of the expected power of Netanyahu if he remains prime minister, according to the political correspondent For the newspaper "Yedioth Ahronoth" Itamar Eichner.

In addition, the new Mossad chief will have to significantly increase the collection of intelligence information to prevent the growth of the influence of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad and the military strength of the resistance factions after Operation "The Guardian of the Walls", especially since this file was not at the heart of the work of the Mossad, although it was a partner With the various security and military agencies on the file of arming the Palestinian factions and their military arsenal.