At a ceremony on October 5, Israel's top military commander signaled that the country may escalate operations against Iran and hinted at covert actions. Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi said that "operations to destroy Iranian capabilities will continue". The same day, Israel and the United States held a bilateral meeting in Washington in which U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told his counterpart, Eyal Hulata, that diplomacy remains the best way to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb but that the United States was "prepared to turn to other options" if negotiations fail.