US’s NSC denies Israeli-American appointed to top Iran role worked for Israeli Defense Ministry

The Trump administration has denied a report that an Israeli-American former Senate staffer, appointed to serve as its director for Israel and Iran in the National Security Council, previously worked for the Israeli Defense Ministry.

The Drop Site outlet said Merav Ceren’s work with Israel’s Defense Ministry “is well known among GOP circles,” and said this past employment was raising questions regarding her appointment to a top role in US national security.

Drop Site noted that in her biography page at pro-Israel think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), it is stated that Ceren “worked at Israel’s Ministry of Defense, where she participated in negotiations in the West Bank between Israel’s Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories and Palestinian Authority officials.”

However, NSC spokesperson Brian Hughes, speaking to Al Monitor, says Ceren “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.”

Hughes told Drop Site that Ceren is “a patriotic American who has served in the United States government for years, including for President Trump, Senator Ted Cruz, and Congressman James Comer. We are thrilled to have her expertise in the NSC, where she carries out the President’s agenda on a range of Middle East issues.”

Congratulations to former @FDD National Security Fellow @MeravCeren for her appointment to NSC overseeing #Israel and #Iran policy. pic.twitter.com/MIg5CfjyLE

— Reza Behrouz (@RBehrouzDO) April 22, 2025