Ex-Mossad chief Yossi Cohen calls Saudi crown prince 'not mature enough'

Yossi Cohen, the former head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, described Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as probably "not a mature enough person" during an appearance at a conference in Tel Aviv on November 2. According to Ynet, Cohen made the comment after being asked to share something about the Saudi leader that the public does not know, and then added a request: "Don't quote me." Ynet characterised the remark as unusual for a figure of his background.

At the same event, Cohen said he expects Israel to carry out another "targeted military operation" against Iran at some point. The Times of Israel reported that he cited concern that Iran keeps advancing its capabilities and may be rebuilding or refurbishing facilities, and that he said Israel must make sure those capabilities do not stay in Iranian hands. He also said the Iranians are "not negotiating in good faith."

Where and to whom he was speaking

According to The Times of Israel, the venue was an international business summit held in Tel Aviv and organised by Birthright Israel. The Jerusalem Post referred to the gathering as a Taglit conference. Taglit is the Hebrew name of Birthright Israel, the organisation best known for bringing young Jews from around the world on organised trips to Israel. The two names describe the same body, so the reports appear to be describing one event.

The Jerusalem Post also reported that Cohen praised cooperation between Israel and another party, but the text of its report available to us breaks off before saying who that was, so we cannot report the substance of that part of his remarks.

Who Yossi Cohen is

The Mossad is Israel's foreign intelligence service, responsible for intelligence gathering and covert operations abroad. It reports to the prime minister. Cohen is a former director of the agency, and all four reports identify him in that role. As a former official he speaks in a private capacity, and nothing in the reports suggests his comments reflect a government position.

Why the Saudi remark drew attention

Mohammed bin Salman is Saudi Arabia's crown prince and is widely regarded as the kingdom's day to day ruler; Ynet described him as the leader of Saudi Arabia. Israel and Saudi Arabia do not have formal diplomatic relations, and the prospect of normalisation between them has been a long running subject of regional diplomacy. Public personal criticism of the crown prince by a former Israeli intelligence chief is uncommon, which helps explain why Ynet led its report with it. Cohen's own aside asking not to be quoted suggests he was aware the comment was sensitive, though the reports do not say how the audience reacted.

Iran, Trump and the talks

On Iran, Cohen's framing was of a renewed operation rather than a first one, implying earlier Israeli action against Iranian facilities. The Times of Israel quoted him as saying US President Donald Trump "insists on a good agreement" and will not accept a bad one, a reference to diplomacy between Washington and Tehran over Iran's programme.

The Times of Israel placed the remarks against a reported weekend phone call between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said to have covered plans to resume strikes on Iran, and against reports that Washington had told Gulf allies to get ready for a possible new round of fighting. Those are the newspaper's reports of the wider situation; Cohen himself is not quoted as confirming them.

A separate claim about a 'surprise' move

The Israeli news channel News.co.il relayed a New York Post report in which an unnamed former senior Mossad official assessed that Israel might in future use a surprise move against senior Iranian figures, comparable in effect to the operation against Hezbollah involving exploding pagers. News.co.il stressed that this was an assessment only, with no official confirmation. Its post does not name Cohen, and it is not clear from the material whether that official is Cohen or whether the assessment was made at the same conference.

What the reports do not say

• None of the reports gives a timeframe for the operation against Iran that Cohen predicted, or says what targets he had in mind.
• The reports do not explain what Cohen meant by calling the crown prince not mature enough, or give any example behind the judgement.
• There is no Saudi response to the remark in any of the reports.
• The Jerusalem Post text available to us is cut off, so the full scope of Cohen's comments on cooperation is unknown.
• The identity of the former Mossad official cited by the New York Post is not given.
• The Times of Israel attributes the Trump and Netanyahu call to reports, and does not say what, if anything, was decided.