Behind the scenes: Israeli military intelligence chief Gen. Shlomi Binder held meetings with senior officials at the Pentagon, the CIA and the White House on Tuesday and Wednesday, two U.S. officials said. One source with knowledge said that Binder came to town to brief the Trump administration on specific intelligence it had requested about Iran.
Gold soars past $5,500 an ounce as US President Donald Trump renews threats against Iran. Gold prices have set a new record amid United States President Donald Trump's threats of military action against Iran and the weakness of the US dollar. Bullion surged past $5,500 an ounce on Thursday, extending an extraordinary rally that has seen the precious metal gain more than 20 percent in value since the start of the year.
Driving the news: Barnea's trip follows a phone call on Wednesday between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the Iran crisis. During the call, Netanyahu asked Trump to hold off on military action against Iran to give Israel more time to prepare for potential Iranian retaliation. An Israeli source said that in addition to concerns about retaliation, the current U.S. plan includes strikes on security force targets in Iran, but is not seen by Israel as strong enough to meaningfully destabilize the regime.