According to reporters for Israeli media outlets, Ya’alon phoned Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel Wednesday evening to apologize. A U.S. defense official confirmed the call to The Hill.

In a speech at Tel Aviv University on Monday, Ya’alon criticized President Obama for having a weak foreign policy, and said Israel could no longer rely on the United States to lead nuclear negotiations with Iran.

“Secretary Kerry spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu this morning. And he protested to him his concerns about these comments,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters Wednesday.

The U.S., Psaki reaffirmed, maintains an “unshakable commitment” to Israel’s security.

“So it is certainly confusing to us why Defense Minister Ya’alon would continue his pattern of making comments that don’t accurately represent the scope of our close partnership on a range of security issues and on the enduring partnership between the United States and Israel,” she said.