Trump NSC chief for 'Israel'-Iran worked in Israeli Security Ministry
4 Min Read
A former Israeli security official is now shaping US policy on "Israel" and Iran from inside the White House, raising concerns about foreign influence at a critical moment.
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Israeli Ministry of Security headquarters, located at the HaKirya military base in Jaffa, 'Tel Aviv' in an undated photo (Israeli Ministry of Security website)
Merav Ceren, the newly appointed Director for "Israel" and Iran at the US National Security Council (NSC), previously worked with "Israel’s" Ministry of Security, according to a report by Drop Site News. While her current role at the White House has not been widely publicized, her past affiliation with the Israeli ministry is reportedly well known in Republican political circles.
Ceren’s position is seen by some as giving "Israel" an inappropriate level of influence in shaping internal US policy, particularly at a time when the Israeli government is stepping up efforts by pressuring the US into a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, rather than pursuing further nuclear negotiations.
NSC spokesperson Brian Hughes confirmed that Ceren is now an official at the NSC, stating that, “Merav is a patriotic American who has served in the United States government for years, including for President Trump, Senator Ted Cruz, and Congressman James Comer,” and, “we are thrilled to have her expertise in the NSC, where she carries out the President’s agenda on a range of Middle East issues.”
Ceren’s biography at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a think tank known for its pro-"Israel" views, openly mentions her time working with "Israel’s" Ministry of Security.
The FDD states on its website, "Merav Ceren is a Middle East Fellow at the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, where she focuses on Israel, Iran, and counterterrorism policies. Previously, she worked at Israel’s Ministry of Defense [...] She has also researched and written on security and civil society issues for the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and studied in Istanbul [...] She is fluent in Hebrew, and has varying proficiency in Arabic and Turkish."
Ceren has previously posted on X expressing opposition to President Obama's 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, making a nod towards Emily Landau, a senior research associate at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Jaffa, "Tel Aviv", where she is also director of the Arms Control and Regional Security Project, according to the European Leadership Network.
No, Israel's security establishment does not support the Iran deal via @EmilyBLandau https://t.co/SKMHCLXJJD
— Merav Ceren (@MeravCeren) October 13, 2016
Reviving the nuclear deal is likely to be a key component of any potential agreement between Trump and Iran to prevent war.
Pitching a joint war effort from within
"Israel" has repeatedly tried to persuade the US to approve a military strike against Iran’s nuclear program, which primarily serves civilian purposes.
According to a recent New York Times report, top American officials, Vice President JD Vance, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, pushed back against the proposed Israeli operation.
Even National Security Council Director Michael Waltz joined in cautioning that such a strike would be unlikely to succeed without significant US involvement. Notably, General Michael Kurilla, the commander of CENTCOM, and Waltz had previously shown openness to Israeli proposals and were briefed by Israeli military leaders on various potential strategies.
CENTCOM, short for United States Central Command, is one of the US military’s unified combatant commands. It’s responsible for overseeing American military operations and security cooperation across a strategically vital region that includes the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia.
As reported by Drop Site, it's uncommon for a foreign government to be able to pitch military action to US leaders and see someone at the table who once served in their own defense establishment. For example, no former officials from the Chinese Communist Party are present when the Trump administration discusses tariffs.
Merav Ceren has a background with the Israeli military and was involved in negotiations between Israel's Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) and the Palestinian Authority. That same agency, COGAT, is currently blocking humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza, worsening an already dire crisis. She is also the sister of Omri Ceren, a prominent neoconservative and adviser to Senator Ted Cruz.
Back in 2021, She published an article in The New Atlantis titled “The Moral Case for High-Tech Weapons,” which raises questions about the ethics of Israeli military innovation. The piece suggests that the technological advancements driven by "Israel’s" military may have somehow made war more "just," while ignoring the moral consequences of such developments.
