Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu categorically denied a media report that Israel likely had planted listening devices found in sensitive locations in Washington.

“A blatant lie,” Netanyahu’s office said in response to the report. “There is a longstanding commitment and a directive from the Israeli government not to engage in any intelligence operations in the U.S. This directive is strictly enforced without exception.”

Politico, citing three former U.S. officials, reported on Thursday that the U.S. has concluded within the past two years that Israel was probably responsible for putting cell-phone surveillance devices near the White House and other locations in Washington D.C.

Israel was embroiled in a espionage case in the U.S. decades ago. Jonathan Pollard, a former U.S. navy intelligence analyst, was convicted of passing classified information to Israel and served 30 years in prison before being paroled in 2015.