The U.S. and Israel signed a secret agreement earlier this month to work to counter Iran's activities in the Mideast, including covert and diplomatic actions to block Tehran's path to nuclear weapons, according to news reports Thursday.
The accord was signed Dec. 12 after two days of secret meetings in Washington between National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster and his Israeli counterpart, Meir Ben-Shabbat, Axios and The Times of Israel reported.
A U.S. official told Axios the document goal's was to translate President Donald Trump's speech on Iran in October into U.S.-Israeli strategic goals on Tehran and to set up a joint working plan.
Trump decertified the Iran nuclear deal in his Oct. 13 speech at the White House.
Israeli officials told both news organizations "the U.S. and Israel see eye to eye the different developments in the region and especially those that are connected to Iran.
"We reached at understandings regarding the strategy and the policy needed to counter Iran.
"Our understandings deal with the overall strategy but also with concrete goals, way of action and the means which need to be used to get obtain those goals."
The agreement creates working groups that would address various issues concerning Tehran, including:
- Using covert and diplomatic action to block Iran's path to nuclear weapons, including further monitoring and verifying whether Iran is not violating the deal and taking more diplomatic steps to put more pressure on Tehran.
- Countering Iranian activity in the region, especially its entrenchment efforts in Syria and its support for Hezbollah and other terrorist groups.
- Countering Iran's development of ballistic missiles and its "precision project" that seeks to build precision-guided missiles in Syria and Lebanon for Hezbollah to be used against Israel in any future conflict.
- Developing U.S.-Israeli preparation efforts to counter various escalation scenarios in the region concerning Iran, Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.
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