US spied on Netanyahu communications during Iran nuclear talks

The US spied on the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu because of concerns he would derail the Iran nuclear deal, according to a new account of surveillance operations.

Despite Barack Obama’s promise to curtail eavesdropping on allies in the wake of the Edward Snowden revelations about the scale and scope of US activities, the National Security Agency’s (NSA) surveillance included phone conversations between top Israeli officials, US congressmen and American-Jewish groups, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The White House did not confirm or deny the report, AFP reported.

Spokesman for the National Security Council Ned Price said on Wednesday: “We are not going to comment on any specific alleged intelligence activities. As a general matter, and as we have said previously, we do not conduct any foreign intelligence surveillance activities unless there is a specific and validated national security purpose. This applies to ordinary citizens and world leaders alike.”

The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed officials, said: “The US pursuing a nuclear arms agreement with Iran at the time, captured communications between Mr. Netanyahu and his aides that inflamed mistrust between the two countries and planted a political minefield at home when Mr. Netanyahu later took his campaign against the deal to Capitol Hill.”

According to the WSJ, NSA’s reports allowed Obama administration officials to have a closer look at the Israeli efforts to convince the Congress to oppose the agreement.

The surveillance allegedly revealed how Netanyahu and his advisers had leaked details of the US-Iran negotiations, which they learned through Israeli spying operations. Last March, Israel denied reports that its security forces spied on the negotiations between Tehran and major powers over Iran’s nuclear capacities.

Israel’s ambassador to the US Ron Dermer was described as coaching unnamed Jewish-American groups on lines of argument to use on Capitol Hill, and Israeli officials were pressuring legislators to oppose the deal, the newspaper said.

While Obama promised two years ago to curb spying on US allies, he reportedly decided there was a “compelling national security purpose” in continuing to monitor some leaders, including Netanyahu and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

“Going dark on Bibi? Of course we wouldn’t do that,” a senior US official told the WSJ.

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