Special to WorldTribune.com

Israel has not received an update on Iran nuclear talks from the United States in nearly two weeks.

Contact between senior officials in the administrations of U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been non-existent as the P5+1 nuclear negotiations went into overtime after missing a June 30 deadline.

U.S. officials said Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman, who has led the Iran talks for the U.S., attempted to contact Israeli National Security Adviser Yossi Cohen three times over the past ten days, but scheduling conflicts prevented the calls from going through.

An official from Netanyahu’s office said the last update from Sherman came 12 days ago and stressed “we have not declined any offers for further updates.”

Israeli officials say the lack of communication from the U.S. gives Israel only a partial understanding of what is taking place in the negotiations.

Netanyahu, who has not spoken to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry since the latest rounds of nuclear talks began, again decried the deal on July 7, calling Iran “the greatest threat to world peace” and insisting world powers were giving in to Teheran’s demands.

“Iran, which is the greatest patron of terror in the world, is extorting from world powers more and more concessions,” Netanyahu said.

“The capitulation agreement that Iran is about to get from world powers is paving the way for it to arm itself with nuclear weapons and to carry them further with the missiles that it continues to develop, and of course to spread terror.”

Talks in Vienna are continuing after negotiators missed a second deadline for a final deal on July 7.

  Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli officials in the dark as U.S.-Iran nuclear talks go into overtime, John Kerry, Wendy Sherman, WorldTribune.com, Yossi Cohen