White House denies staffer Merav Ceren’s ties to Israeli defense ministry: What to know
Ceren previously worked for the US Senate, and the administration downplayed reports of her past connection to the Israeli government.
The Trump administration has named former Senate staffer Merav Ceren to the National Security Council, the White House confirmed to Al-Monitor on Monday, denying a report that Ceren was previously employed by Israel's Ministry of Defense.
Who is Ceren? Ceren previously served as deputy policy director for the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation from May 2023 until February of this year. Other past roles include senior staff member for the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and a national security fellowship at the House Foreign Affairs Committee, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Ceren served as a national security fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a conservative think tank, from 2016 to 2017. According to her biography on the foundation’s website, Ceren worked at the Israeli Defense Ministry before beginning the fellowship. In that capacity, she participated in negotiations between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority at the ministry, according to the biography, which was last updated in 2016.
A spokesperson for the National Security Council denied that Ceren worked for the Israeli Defense Ministry, saying that she merely participated in an internship overseen by the body.
“Merav was never employed by the Israeli Defense Ministry, let alone was she an Israeli official. She did a policy fellowship studying resource management in the West Bank, which is overseen by the Israeli Ministry of Defense, which required her to liaison with them for her research,” Brian Hughes told Al-Monitor in a statement.
Hughes added that Ceren is “a patriotic American committed to implementing President Trump’s agenda, and these lies are efforts to undermine the President’s agenda.”
The US news outlet Drop Site News reported earlier on Monday that Ceren had been named director for Israel and Iran at the council. The outlet reported that Ceren previously worked for the Israeli Defense Ministry, citing the Foundation for Defense of Democracies biography.
The foundation and Ceren did not immediately respond to Al-Monitor’s request for comment.
Know more: The appointment comes amid negotiations between the United States and Iran over the latter’s nuclear program. The second round of talks concluded in Rome on Saturday. The deliberations will resume on Wednesday with technical talks between officials from both countries.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to take military action against Iran if it does not agree to a new nuclear agreement. In February, he reinstated his “maximum pressure” policy against Iran, adding new sanctions on the Islamic Republic over their alleged pursuit of a nuclear weapon. Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said in February that Iran has significantly increased its production of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.
The New York Times reported on Thursday that Israel was preparing to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities as early as May, but that Trump refused to back the operation and opted to pursue negotiations with Tehran. Israel is adamantly opposed to Iran's nuclear program, believing it to be an existential threat.
