Iran enjoys ‘influence’ on Israel government: Spy chief

Iran's intelligence chief asserted Thursday that the Iranian intelligence apparatus enjoyed a degree of "influence" inside the Israeli government, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency has reported.

The head of Iran's counter-espionage agency spoke to the news agency to answer recent claims by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israeli "agents" periodically visit Iran.

"It's not surprising that Netanyahu would tell stories like that," the spy chief, whose identity is not public, said.

"Because the issue of Iranian influence [on the Israeli government] has exposed him to pressure, both internally and externally," he added.

Referring to recent instructions by Netanyahu to step up security checks on Israeli officials, the Iranian spy chief said: "This order reveals the truth of the matter."

At a Dec. 17 meeting with Israeli diplomats, Netanyahu had claimed that Israeli agents were waging operations in Iran to prevent it from "achieving its nuclear ambitions".

"We visit Iran periodically in order to see what's going on there," the Israeli PM said without elaborating.

Israel has long considered Iran one of the primary threats to its national security.