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Members of the Obama White House are alleging that Israel has not only been spying on nuclear negotiations with Iran but has been using the information gleaned to undermine the efforts of the United States.

The already strained relationship between the White House and the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took a nosedive after the Israeli leader spoke to Congress on Iran, a move the White House felt was designed to undermine the president's efforts. Then, during campaigning for elections last week that will almost certainly see Mr. Netanyahu lead Israel's next coalition, he vowed neverto allow a Palestinian state to emerge on his watch undermining the premise of the so-called Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Obama's frustration can now be seen in a greater willingness to place stories critical of Israel in the press.

Unnamed White House officials, the Wall Street Journal reportedon Monday,say Israeli spies eavesdropped on the Iran nuclear talks as part of an effort to upend moves toward sanctions relief for Iran in exchange for a reduction in the scope of its program. US officials are most upset by Israels efforts to upset the talks by using the information gained from the spying in Netanyahus speech to Congress earlier this month.

"It is one thing for the US and Israel to spy on each other. It is another thing for Israel to steal US secrets and play them back to US legislators to undermine US diplomacy," an unnamed senior White House official said in the report.

Israel denies the allegations, saying it gained the information through monitoring Iranian leaders and other sources. A senior official in Netanyahu's office called the accusations utterly false.

News of the espionage broke the same day as the White House criticized Netanyahu for his pre-election vow to oppose an independent Palestinian state, a statement he has since tried to walk back.

We cannot simply pretend that those comments were never made, or that they dont raise questions about the prime ministers commitment to achieving peace through direct negotiations, White House chief of staff Denis McDonough told a meeting of American pro-Israel lobbyists.

Relations between the two countries have noticeably cooled over the Iran issue. Netanyahu steadfastly opposes any sanctions concessions to Iran, and instead wants the US to increase the financial pressure. In early March, Netanyahu broke protocol when he accepted a Republican invitation to address Congress without notifying the White House first.

Republican House Speaker John Boehner last week announced that he would lead a group of lawmakers to Israel at the end of March, around the same time as the current deadline for a preliminary agreement between Iran and the world powers negotiating with the Islamic Republic the US, UK, France, Germany, Russia, and China.

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Obama White House accuses Israel of spying to undermine Iran talks