Israel has denied a Wall Street Journal report that quotes “current and former U.S. officials” saying Israel has been engaged in a campaign to spy on the negotiations between Iran and the 5+1 and undermine the process.
The Wall Street Journal published an article on March 23 saying Israel was seeking information to make a case against the nuclear talks, and that the White House has been angered by Israel’s attempts to share classified information with U.S. lawmakers and other individuals.
According to the newspaper, Israel has been eavesdropping on the talks and using American and European officials to get classified information.
WSJ quotes an unnamed White House official saying: “It is one thing for the U.S. and Israel to spy on each other. It is another thing for Israel to steal U.S. secrets and play them back to U.S. legislators to undermine U.S. diplomacy.”
BBC reports that an official in Benjamin Netanyahu’s office referred to the WSJ report as “utterly false” and said Israel does not conduct espionage against its allies.
Netanyahu has been increasingly at odds with the Democratic White House as it tries to appeal to the Republican majority in Congress to force a change in White House policies.
