WASHINGTON NewUS sanctions on Iranwould potentially act as a grenade that could lead to the collapse of the current negotiations between Iran and the six world powers for a nuclear deal that Israel considers weak, the head of Israels intelligence service said in an unusual statement Jan. 22.The rare public statement by Mossad chief Tamir Pardo was released by the Israeli prime ministers office Jan. 22. This comes amid a new eruption of high-level tensions betweenWashington and Jerusalemover a potential Iran nuclear deal, and what Washington sees as Israels heavy-handed efforts to lobby Congress to pass new sanctions that the Obama administration believes would undermine prospects for reaching a diplomatic resolution.
The latest tensions broke to the surface after the White House said Jan. 21 it had not been consulted about the invitation from House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address both houses of Congress about the Iran threat next month, and considered it a breach of protocol.
OnJan. 22, Boehner said Netanyahu had asked to move his address to Congress to March 3, when he will already be in Washington to attend the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference.
This article was written by Laura Rozen for Al-Monitor on January 23, 2015.Laura Rozenreports on foreign policy from Washington, DC,for Al-Monitor's Back Channel. She has written forYahoo! News, PoliticoandForeign Policy. On Twitter:@LRozen
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