NSA Spied on Netanyahu’s Office

The US National Security Agency (NSA) tapped into conversations between Israeli and American officials in order to figure out how to counter the campaign of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against a deal with Iran on its nuclear program, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The NSA eavesdropped on conversations between Netanyahu and his aides, US and Israeli officials, as well as American-Jewish groups, the newspaper said on Tuesday citing former and current US intelligence and administration officials.

One tool used by the NSA was a "cyber implant in Israeli networks" that enabled the US security agency to access communications within Netanyahu’s office, The Wall Street Journal said.

According to the newspaper, the NSA spying allowed to gather more information on Israeli efforts to undermine the nuclear talks with Iran and turn Congress against the deal by coordinating with Jewish-American groups, negotiating with undecided US lawmakers and leaking details of US-Iran negotiations.

On July 14, Iran and the P5+1 group comprising of the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom plus Germany, signed a nuclear agreement also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The agreement guarantees the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

Netanyahu has been a staunch opponent of the Iran nuclear deal, and his stance has caused much disagreement with the United States.

Over the course of the negotiations, Netanyahu repeatedly warned that concessions offered to Tehran as part of the nuclear deal would endanger stability in the Middle East and Israel’s national security.