WASHINGTON — With the Obama administration racing to negotiate the outlines of a nuclear deal with Iran by the end of March, aides to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel have charged in recent days that they are being deliberately left in the dark about the details of the talks. The Americans have said that is untrue, but even one of Washington’s closest negotiating partners reports being warned about being too open with the Israelis, “because whatever we say may be used in a selective way.”
The tensions between the United States and Israel over negotiating with Tehran have a long and twisted history, and they plunged to a new low when Mr. Netanyahu engineered an invitation to address a joint meeting of Congress, in less than two weeks, to warn against a “bad deal.”
Now, with Mr. Netanyahu maneuvering to survive a March 17 election, and Mr. Obama pressing for a breakthrough agreement that could end three decades of enmity with Iran and reduce the chances of a military confrontation, it seems that Washington and Jerusalem are engaging in the diplomatic equivalent of posting notes to each other on the refrigerator door.
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“This could be a problem if we finally strike a deal,” said a participant in the negotiations who refused to speak on the record on the insistence of the White House and the State Department. “Everyone is going to have the same set of facts about what the Iranians will be allowed to do. And everyone will have a different estimate about how long it would take for them to build a weapon.”
Jodi Rudoren contributed reporting from Jerusalem.
A version of this article appears in print on February 18, 2015, on page A6 of the New York edition with the headline: Fear of Israeli Leaks Fuels Distrust as U.S. and Iran Hold Nuclear Talks. Order Reprints| Today’s Paper|Subscribe
