US intelligence officials believe Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could stand in the way of Washington and Tehran reaching a long-term agreement, The Washington Post reported, citing current and former US officials.

According to the newspaper’s sources, US intelligence agencies have warned President Donald Trump’s administration that Netanyahu is highly likely to take steps that could undermine the White House’s push for durable arrangements with Iran. In Washington, those concerns are linked partly to intense political pressure on the Israeli leader, who is expected by his domestic audience to keep the war in Lebanon going.

Several US intelligence assessments say Israel’s leadership intends to maintain military pressure on Hezbollah. A halt to fighting in Lebanon, however, is viewed as one of the central pieces of a possible US-Iran agreement.

The most recent US intelligence report cited by The Washington Post also highlights the political backdrop. With nationwide elections scheduled for this autumn, Netanyahu’s standing depends in part on whether he can convince voters that he is ready to keep Israeli troops in Lebanon and intensify the campaign against Hezbollah.

One of the newspaper’s sources said that stopping strikes on the movement or pulling units out of Lebanon would look like a defeat for the Israeli prime minister.

US intelligence agencies also believe Israeli officials are unhappy with the terms of the US-Iran memorandum, as it does not include a maximum-pressure policy toward Tehran.

Another unnamed US official told The Washington Post that even Israel’s refusal to leave southern Lebanon could collapse the already fragile understandings between Washington and Tehran. In that official’s view, continued Israeli control over part of Lebanese territory could have severe consequences, while a full withdrawal of Israeli forces is seen as essential to avoiding a new confrontation between the Israeli military and Hezbollah.