WASHINGTON
The U.S. may release a convicted Israeli spy earlier than expected, U.S. officials said Friday.
Reports of the potential release have fueled speculation that the move may be an attempt to smooth relations with Israel in the wake of the Iran nuclear deal. Israel has been a strong opponent of the deal.
But National Security Council spokesman Alistair Baskey told Anadolu Agency that there was "absolutely zero linkage between Jonathan Pollard’s status and foreign policy considerations”.
In a statement to Anadolu Agency, the Justice Department said the agency has always maintained that Pollard "should serve his full sentence for the serious crimes he committed, which in this case is a 30-year sentence as mandated by statute.”
Pollard's arrest in 1985 has long been a source of tension between the U.S. and Israel.
The former U.S. Navy intelligence officer is eligible for mandatory parole in November, according to U.S. officials.
Pollard, 60, was convicted in 1987 and sentenced to a life term for passing classified national defense information to Israel.
Under U.S. law, he is eligible for mandatory parole after 30 years, a U.S. official said.
President Barack Obama told an Israeli interviewer last year that the government had no plans to immediately release Pollard, but his case would be accorded the same kinds of review of any other.
