In the wake of reports that former Mossad director Meir Dagan had been asked to surrender his diplomatic passport, the Prime Minister's Office released a statement on Sunday stating that "upon leaving his post, the Foreign Ministry allowed Dagan to retain his diplomatic passport for an additional period so that he could go on several planned overseas trips." Channel 2 reported on Sunday that Dagan had to surrender his diplomatic passport in light of his recent public remarks warning against an Israeli strike on Iran, which caused a stir. The Prime Minister's Office statement noted that Dagan would only have to relinquish his passport once his overseas trips end, adding that "according to procedure, upon ending their service diplomats must surrender their passports without delay." Dagan criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak at a Tel Aviv University conference several weeks ago, where he said that "there is a leadership void," and expressed his view that Iran should not be attacked. Later, he was quoted saying that with the head of the Shin Bet gone, and the departure of the Israel Defense Forces chief of staff and director of military intelligence, "no one stands in the way of Bibi and Barak" when it comes to important decisions such as an attack on Iran. Dagan's comments generated criticism in political circles for what has been dubbed "the sin of blabbering secret information" and the disclosure of sensitive information. Commentators have even suggested that Dagan was denied a second term because of Israel's alleged role in the 2010 killing of Hamas operative Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai, in which Mossad agents were suspected of using forged foreign passports during the operation. "Decision-makers in Israel are sending a strong message that they view the Mabhouh passport saga as a blow to Israel, unlike Dagan," a senior government official said.
