Yair Lapid
Yair LapidHezki Baruch

Prime Minister Yair Lapid reprimanded Mossad chief David Barnea following Barnea’s unusual statement on Thursday regarding the nuclear deal with Iran, Kan 11 News reports.

In his remarks, Barnea strongly criticized the Biden administration over the impending agreement to return to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and said that returning to the deal defies common sense.

According to Friday’s report, Lapid told Barnea that he went beyond the official Israeli talking points in criticizing the United States.

The report also stated that Barnea’s unusual briefing with journalists was coordinated with Lapid, but the messages he conveyed were not.

The two remarks he made that are not in line with official Israeli policy are the direct criticism of the United States, as well as the issue of the open cases of the International Atomic Energy Agency against Iran, which the US administration assured Israel will remain open.

Meanwhile on Friday, a senior Israeli defense official said that the Trump administration’s withdrawal in 2018 from the Iran nuclear deal resulted in the Iranian nuclear program being expanded and becoming significant.

"My personal opinion – leaving the nuclear agreement turned out to be a mistake. The question is what to do now. The State of Israel influenced and continues to influence the emerging agreement, but as of this moment it is far from serving the Israeli interest and the Minister of Defense expressed his opposition in the room, in his own way. These messages have been received and are taken into account in my opinion," the official said following Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s meeting with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.

(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)