Israel keeps Mossad chief

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu extended the tenure of the Mossad chief to
an eighth year on Sunday, a testament to the spymasters perceived success in waging shadow wars against
Iran and its allies. Meir Dagan, a former commando and retired general, took over Mossad in 2002 with what
security sources described as a mandate to monitor and sabotage the Iranian nuclear programme ahead of any
decision by Israel to launch full-scale pre-emptive strikes.
Mossad also had spotted an alleged Syrian nuclear reactor which Israel bombed in 2007, and assassinated
Muslims such as Imad Moughniyah of Lebanons Hezbollah militia, who was slain in Damascus in 2008.
The son of Holocaust refugees, Dagan, 64, has spearheaded assessments that a nuclear-armed Iran would
present a mortal threat to Israel.
Iran - which denies seeking the bomb - could produce its first such warhead by 2014, Dagan said last week.
He also played down prospects of the current civil upheaval over Irans disputed June 12 election leading to a
change in government, but said Tehran could be persuaded to curb sensitive nuclear technologies if US-led
sanctions are intensified.
Failing that, Israel, which is widely assumed to have the Middle Easts only nuclear arsenal, has hinted at a
military option, though many analysts think Iranian sites are too dispersed and fortified for its air force to take on
alone.
Mossads headquarters, north of Tel Aviv, has almost doubled in size since 2002 - an indication of Dagans
budgetary clout.