An Israeli billionaire businessman has accused Mossad director Yossi Cohen of pledging allegiance to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara in exchange for his 2013 promotion to the role of national security advisor, Israeli media report, citing police testimony.

Cohen's lobbying was reportedly conveyed to police by Arnon Milchan -an Israeli film producer who resides in Hollywood. Police accuse Milchan of giving Netanyahu bribes in exchange for tax exemption legislation that would benefit the billionaire.

Milchan is said to have been contacted by Cohen in 2013, while the latter was working as a Mossad official, with Cohen alleged to have asked the billionaire to speak to Netanyahu about considering him for the role of chief of Israel's National Security Council. Milchan reportedly told Cohen that the Netanyahus "appreciate loyalty", with Cohen allegedly promising to provide such loyalty.

Milchan reportedly also emphasised to Cohen the importance Sara Netanyahu placed on personal loyalty, with Cohen said to have asked regularly what the Israeli first lady thought of him as part of an effort to be seen in a positive light by the powerful family. A statement on behalf of Sara Netanyahu indicated that she "rejects the blatant lie told time and time again" that "she somehow has anything to do with nominations in any way".

Cohen is seen to be one of the Netanyahu family's "closest confidants", with media describing him as the prime minister's "shadow warrior" in a number of diplomatic and military campaigns.

Last year, a senior advisor to Defence Minister Benny Gantz told a newspaper that Cohen is the strongest candidate to succeed Netanyahu as head of the Likud Party, saying he has the right combination of "charm and cruelty" to do so.

Damascus has said disruptions of Iranian oil imports are causing shortages for Syrians. Syria and Iran have denied funding terrorism and say their alliance is aimed at countering such crime.

The disclosure of the Israeli campaign at sea marks a new dimension in its campaign to counter Iran's military and economic entrenchment and its support of allied groups in the region. Since 2018, Israel has conducted hundreds of airstrikes, mostly in Syria, to rout Iranian-backed groups, weapons and influence across the region.

The disclosure also comes amid escalating tensions in the region and as the Biden administration considers its approach to confront Iran. The administration has said it wants to return to the 2015 international agreement on Iran's nuclear program, but progress has stalled over demands by each side for concessions by the other.

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Experts say the string of attacks against Iranian tankers has stemmed from perceived inaction by the international community, particularly after Iran broke a promise not to deliver oil to Syria from a seized tanker.

Mark Dubowitz, chief executive of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a think tank that opposes the Iran deal and urges a hard line against Tehran, said Israel and the U.S. have long set their sights on Iranian oil revenue.

"Israel stepped up the game beyond sanctions to sabotage," he said. "The Red Sea sabotage is keeping with a broader economic warfare campaign."

Among the dozen attacks on ships carrying Iranian oil are three such strikes in 2019, according to a shipping professional. Ships used by the Islamic Republic were targeted six times in 2020, according to a second shipping professional, in Tehran.

The second professional said Tehran has kept quiet on the attacks. "We are trying to keep a low profile," he said. "It would look like a sign of weakness" if Iran complained and failed to react with a military response, he said.

In an episode last month, suspected Israeli operatives attached a limpet mine to attack an Iranian vessel as it anchored near Lebanon to deliver Iran oil to Syria, according to the first shipping professional. Israel's military declined to comment on the incident.

Limpet mines are typically attached secretly to the hull of ships in port and detonated later, blowing holes in the sides of the vessels.

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