Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Expresses Surprise Over Israeli Espionage of Iran Negotiations

The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives stated that he was surprised by the report regarding Israeli espionage on Iran's nuclear negotiations with six world powers. According to a report by Agence France-Presse, John Boehner said on Tuesday, March 24, that he had no information on whether Israeli intelligence had reached American lawmakers. The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that Israel was not only spying on the highly confidential negotiations between Iran and the six world powers but also provided details of these negotiations to some American lawmakers, aiming to sabotage efforts to prevent a nuclear agreement with Iran. Boehner, who is set to visit Israel in the coming days following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's victory in parliamentary elections, stated, "Honestly, I was somewhat surprised because the information that is said to have been conveyed by Israel to the representatives has not yet reached me." He commented on the "clear leak of information" to unnamed representatives, saying he was not aware of this issue at all. The report adds that many Republicans oppose any agreement that does not completely halt Iran's nuclear program. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman called the Wall Street Journal report "false" and stated, "We never spy on the United States." Boehner refrained from answering a question about the potential ability of Israelis to transfer confidential information from the nuclear negotiations to members of Congress, only saying, "I am not sure what the information was, but I was surprised by that report." Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon also responded to the Wall Street Journal report, stating that "the U.S. has never complained to Israel about the alleged espionage mentioned in this report." Earlier this year, the Speaker of the House faced backlash from Democrats for inviting Netanyahu to speak in Congress about the Iran nuclear negotiations without consulting the U.S. government. Netanyahu ultimately spoke in Congress two weeks before the Israeli parliamentary elections, but some Democratic representatives boycotted the speech, and President Barack Obama also refused to meet with Netanyahu. Boehner is expected to travel to Israel during the congressional recess that begins later this week. A spokesperson for the Speaker's office said that Boehner plans to discuss shared priorities between the two countries regarding regional peace and security, as well as strengthening Washington-Tel Aviv relations.