JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Senior Israeli officials claim aides aligned with U.S. Vice President J. D. Vance are working behind the scenes to prevent a meeting between President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a report by Ynet.

The report, citing senior Israeli officials, said some administration figures believe Netanyahu would use a meeting with Trump to press for a tougher U.S. approach toward Iran and are attempting to delay or prevent such a meeting from taking place.

The officials also claimed the relationship between Trump and Netanyahu is stronger than public reports have suggested, describing some reports of friction between the two leaders as overstated. At the same time, they alleged there has been an internal effort within the administration to avoid a meeting that could be viewed as encouraging a more hawkish policy on Iran.

According to Ynet, administration envoy Ari Lightstone is expected to meet with Netanyahu to discuss the possibility and timing of a White House meeting. Netanyahu hopes to travel to Washington next week and would also like to attend the funeral of Sen. Lindsey Graham later this month, but prefers not to make the trip without first securing time with Trump.

The report said Netanyahu previously postponed a planned U.S. visit after his office publicly cited scheduling changes surrounding Graham’s funeral. Behind the scenes, however, Israeli officials claimed the White House had shown little enthusiasm for arranging a meeting at that time and viewed Netanyahu as attempting to force one. They said discussions with the White House are continuing but no meeting has been finalized.

The reported tensions come days after Vance sharply criticized Israel during a podcast interview, alleging Israeli-linked interests were conducting a well-funded campaign to influence American public opinion and undermine negotiations with Iran. He also said he believes some Israeli officials oppose the emerging agreement with Tehran and are working to derail it.

Neither the White House nor Vance’s office has publicly responded to the claims attributed to the Israeli officials in the Ynet report.