Mossad director Tamir Pardo secretly visited Ankara several days ago and met with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan. According to a report in the Hurriyet Daily News, Pardo asked Fidan to arrange a meeting for him with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

According to the newspaper report, the secret meeting took place in Ankara on Monday, June 10. During the meeting, Pardo and Fidan discussed the situation in Syria, the Iranian nuclear program and the demonstrations and protests against Erdogan in Turkey. The Hurriyet Daily News reported that Pardo and Fidan discussed the possibility that the intelligence agencies of neighboring countries were trying to influence and encourage the demonstrations in Turkey.

Although Pardo asked his counterpart to arrange a meeting with Prime Minister Erdogan, he has not yet received an answer. He and Fidan also discussed Iran’s involvement in the Syrian civil war and greater intelligence cooperation between Israel and Turkey regarding the situation in Syria.

Israel has not confirmed the Turkish news report. Pardo and Fidan met in Egypt several months ago as part of efforts to obtain a cease-fire during the fighting in the Gaza Strip. The previous Mossad chief, Meir Dagan, had reservations about Fidan, claiming that he was close to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. High-ranking officials in Israel’s defense establishment also suspected that Turkish intelligence leaked information it had received from Israel to the Iranians.

Open gallery view Mossad chief Tamir Pardo Credit: Moti Milrod