Israeli Representative Accuses Netanyahu of Disclosing Classified Information in U.S. Congress

According to an Israeli parliament member, the Prime Minister of Israel disclosed "classified information" to members of Congress in order to align them with his stance against the Iran nuclear deal. In a speech in the southern city of Beersheba on Saturday, May 30, Omer Bar-Lev, a member of the Knesset, stated that Benjamin Netanyahu revealed sensitive and classified information obtained by Israeli intelligence agencies during his speech to Congress in Washington in March 2015, despite the discontent of former U.S. President Barack Obama. Bar-Lev added that Netanyahu was so eager to convince Congress members that his opposition to the JCPOA was correct and that Obama was mistaken in giving the deal a chance for success, that he even disclosed classified Israeli information. Omer Bar-Lev is a member of the Labor Party and the "Zionist Camp," the main opposition faction in the current Knesset. He did not specify the nature of the classified information that he claims Netanyahu disclosed. The Israeli Prime Minister has yet to respond to the accusation made by this parliament member. This opposition representative made these remarks while former Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon also accused Netanyahu in recent days of making mistakes in the deal to purchase modern submarines from Germany, calling for judicial authorities to investigate the matter. However, Bar-Lev's statements regarding the disclosure of Israeli classified information related to Iran by the Prime Minister to U.S. Congress members came just two days before U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to Israel. Israeli officials have previously stated that issues related to Iran, particularly Israel's opposition to the permanent military presence of Iran in Syria, will be among the main topics in Netanyahu's negotiations with Trump. Netanyahu has consistently criticized the U.S. and global powers' nuclear negotiations with Iran conducted during Obama's presidency and continued to oppose it strongly after the JCPOA was reached. However, after Trump's rise to power in the U.S., Netanyahu expressed hope that the new Washington administration would adopt a different approach from Obama's soft policy towards Iran. Meanwhile, according to Bloomberg, Michael Oren, former Israeli ambassador to the U.S., stated on Friday, May 29, that Netanyahu will attempt to encourage Trump to adopt new stringent sanctions against Iran during their meeting this week. Oren indicated that Netanyahu would propose tougher banking sanctions aimed at crippling Iran's economy during his meeting with Trump. Oren, who is also a member of the Knesset, stated that any return by Iran to uranium enrichment, which would violate the JCPOA, could lead to new conflicts. The negotiations between the Israeli Prime Minister and the U.S. President are taking place on Monday and Tuesday of this week in Israel, while the re-election of Hassan Rouhani as Iran's President has been welcomed by Western countries allied with the U.S. Rouhani was re-elected in the Iranian presidential election on Friday, receiving over 22.5 million votes, which accounted for 57% of the votes cast. The Western world recognizes Rouhani as a moderate figure with whom they can work.