Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) head Yoram Cohen to investigate the political and intelligence officials behind recent leaks to the public about a possible Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida reported Thursday. The report, said to be based on information provided by an unnamed senior Israeli official close to the Prime Minister's Office, said the order to launch an investigation came after it was suspected that the sensitive information was leaked out of political motives designed to harm the prime minister and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and to bring down their government. Former Mossad chief Meir Dagan and former Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin joined political officials led by opposition leader Tzipi Livni, and it was they, according to the Israeli official quoted in Al-Jarida, who leaked false information to the media about a possible attack on Iran. The group of officials intended to smear Netanyahus and Barak's images and to make it seem they were endangering the country's security, the Israeli official told Al-Jarida. "Dagan and Diskin leaked the information to journalists as revenge against Netanyahu and Barak after Dagan's request for an extension of his term as Mossad chief was rejected by the prime minister and defense minister, and after Diskin's candidacy for head of Mossad following the end of his term as ISA chief was also rejected," the Israeli official was quoted as saying by the Kuwaiti newspaper. Israel remained silent on Thursday on the Iranian issue and did not respond to or comment on the Al-Jarida report. In comments during a discussion Thursday over a possible Israeli attack on Iran, Interior Minister Eli Yishai said, "We are losing our direction, and any public debate on this security issue is pointless, as is this current chatter." Meanwhile, Defense Ministry Director of Policy and Political-Military Affairs Maj. Gen. (res.) Amos Gilad was forced at the last minute to cancel his scheduled participation at a cultural conference in Beersheba on Saturday, after Netanyahu and Barak instructed him to do so. Last week, Gilad gave an extensive lecture on Iran's nuclear program at the Ashkelon Academic College. According to Amnon Yosef, the organizer of the Beersheba conference, Gilad was invited as the main guest at the event and gave final confirmation of his participation on Wednesday. "On Thursday, we received a message from him that due to personal circumstances he could no longer participate," Yosef said. "I'm not sure what personal circumstances he was referring to because he didn't say he was sick." A senior official in Jerusalem explained that in light of recent remarks made over the Iranian issue in public, there was concern by the Prime Minister's Office and Defense Ministry that "an interview with Gilad over the Iran nuclear issue could trigger further unnecessary talk on the subject." Against the backdrop of recent speculation over a possible military strike on Iran, President Shimon Peres on Thursday called on world leaders "to keep their pledge not to support the Iranian nuclear program. During an official visit to Cyprus where he met with his Cypriot counterpart, President Demetris Christofias, Peres said, "Iran presents a danger to the entire world, not just to Israel, and therefore the world must stop it from becoming a greater danger, which supports ideologies of hatred, blood, and death." Peres also commented on a report by The Guardian this week saying the U.K. might take part in an attack on Iran. "I'm not surprised by Britain's intentions, he said. Iran wants to be a hegemonic power in the Middle East. The best is for the international community to start operating and taking responsibility." Amid reports that the British Army has been accelerating its preparations for a possible attack on Iran, and that the British chief of staff recently made a secret visit to Israel, Defense Minister Ehud Barak met on Thursday with the heads of British intelligence in London. Barak also met with British Foreign Secretary William Hague and British Defense Secretary Philip Hammond. In a statement issued by the defense minister's office, no details were given on what the officials talked about during the meetings, except that "the complex challenges posed by the Iranian nuclear issue were discussed." Barak on Thursday night said his visit to London was "very good" and noted that issues relating to Israel's security were very important to the U.K.
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