Israel's Ynet news portal reported on Sunday that a delegation of Israeli intelligence officers is currently in the US in an effort to convince American intelligence agencies that Iran is still seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.

The unscheduled mission is the latest Israeli response to last month's publication of the annual US National Intelligence Estimate suggesting that Iran had abandoned its quest for an atomic bomb in 2003.

On Saturday, Israel Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter caused a stir when he unleashed harsh public criticism of the US intelligence report, calling it a misconception that could lead to an escalation of regional conflict of which Israel would be the first victim.

Dichter went on to note that if US intelligence could be so grossly mistaken in its assessment of Iran's intentions, perhaps they were also misrepresenting Palestinian designs vis-a-vis Israel. He pointed out that the same intelligence agencies are the ones feeding information to US officials who have been put in charge of determining Palestinian compliance with their peace obligations.