Israel denies spying on Iran nuclear talks

Israel has denied allegations that it spied on talks between Iran and the US over Iran’s nuclear program.

The claims, reported in the Wall Street Journal, were “utterly false”, said an Israeli official.

According to the report, Israel wanted details of the talks in order to build a case against a nuclear deal with Iran.

Earlier this month, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu told the US Congress that a deal being discussed could “pave Iran’s path to the bomb”.

The US, UK, France, Germany, Russia and China are seeking to reach agreement to curtail Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

They fear Iran wants to build a nuclear bomb – something Iran denies, insisting it is merely exercising its right to peaceful nuclear power.

The sides aim to reach a framework deal by the end of March.

According to Tuesday’s report in the WSJ, Israel began eavesdropping on the talks last year and also acquired information from confidential briefings with US officials and diplomatic contacts in Europe.

The White House uncovered the operation, the report said, when US intelligence agencies spying on Israel intercepted messages among Israeli officials that could only have come from closed-door talks.

US officials were particularly upset that Israel had sought to share the information with US lawmakers and others to build a case against the deal, the report added.

The report comes amid tense relations between the White House and Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

The Israeli prime minister angered Washington in his recent re-election campaign when he said he would not allow a Palestinian state if he was returned to office.

Benjamin Netanyahu later tempered his statement, saying he did want a two-state solution, but that “circumstances have to change”.