Ex-Shin Bet head says Netanyahu's Iran actions focused on legacy Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu lights the fourth candle of Hanukkah at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem, Israel, Dec. 11, 2012. UPI/Debbie Hill. JERUSALEM, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's actions concerning Iran are based on his desire to have a place in history, a former security leader said. "I have a very deep feeling that when it comes to Iran, Netanyahu is possessed by Menachem Begin, who attacked Iraq's nuclear reactor, and by [Ehud] Olmert, who many claim is responsible for the attack on Syria's reactor," said Yuval Diskin, who directed Shin Bet from 2006 to 2011. "Bibi wants to go down in history as the person who did something on this size a scale," Diskin said. He said there was a "crisis of leadership" in the Israeli leadership, Haaretz reported. The prime minister's office dismissed Diskin's comments, saying they were based on his disappointment at not being appointed head of Mossad, the foreign intelligence service. The Defense Ministry issued a statement calling Diskin's comments "baseless" and without a "kernel of truth."