The US administration will continue to brief Israel on its secret nuclear negotiations with Iran, US officials said Tuesday, despite allegations the Jewish state has been spying on the talks.
"We've spoken in the past to our concern ... about leaks of certain sensitive information. And obviously, we've taken steps to ensure that the negotiations remain private," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
But she refused to either confirm or deny a Wall Street Journal report citing anonymous US officials accusing Israel of spying on the nuclear negotiations with Iran aimed at reaching a deal that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vociferously opposes.
Current and former US officials quoted in the Journal said they believed Israel had passed on the information to US lawmakers aiming to undermine support for the emerging deal, which has been championed by the White House.
Since October 2013, just before an interim deal was agreed with Iran, US officials had conducted some 230 briefings and calls with Senate and House lawmakers and their staff on the substance of the discussions.
"Congress has been briefed extensively, thoroughly and frequently. So my point is that it's absurd that they would need information from a foreign country."
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