US lawmakers face an uncomfortable choice between their European and Israeli allies now that both sides publicly disagree on whether to pass new Iran sanctions legislation.

Nuclear negotiating partners France, Britain and Germany for the first time jointly came out against new sanctions legislation in a Jan. 21 Washington Post op-ed. Meanwhile, the Israeli intelligence service Mossad issued a rare press statement the morning of Jan. 22 disputing a news report that it had warned US senators that sanctions legislation could "tank" diplomatic negotiations.

The statement said Mossad chief Tamir Pardo told visiting senators earlier this month that sanctions legislation could cause a "temporary breakdown in the talks, at the end of which the negotiations will be restarted under better conditions."

"Contrary to the report, the Mossad chairman did not say that he opposes additional sanctions against Iran," Mossad said, according to a translation by an Israeli blogger. "The Mossad chairman pointed out that the negotiations with Iran must be conducted using 'carrots and sticks,' and the 'sticks' are currently missing."