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At a conference in New York, Meir Dagan also voices support for former Shin Bet head Yuval Diskin, who criticized Israel's leadership handling of Iran crisis, Palestinian peace process.

Former Mossad chief Meir Dagan said on Sunday that Iran's leadership is using "smart" diplomacy to advance its nuclear program, and that the Iranian threat is not a "quarrel" between Israel and Iran, but an international issue.

Speaking at a conference sponsored by the Jerusalem Post in New York, Dagan described President Ahmadinejad's regime as "smart" and "a master of diplomacy that heads forward consistently to achieve its nuclear objectives."

It is wrong to describe the issue as a "quarrel between Israel and Iran," Dagan asserted, adding that the Iranian problem "must be solved by the international community."

Earlier at the conference, Dagan backed former head of the Shin Bet security service, Yuval Diskin, who sharply criticized the Israeli leadership over the weekend. Diskin criticized Netanyahu and Barak on their bellicose stance on Iran, as well as what he called the premier's unwillingness to advance peace talks with the Palestinian Authority.

Dagan said that Diskin was his friend, and added that he "spoke his own truth."

The former Mossad chief said that he agrees with Prime Minister Netanyahu's government that the Iran threat is a real problem, but disagrees with the... >>>