US president says difference in stance on Tehran is separate from the decision not to meet with PM during his Washington visit; Netanyahu says he's determined to speak to Congress to 'prevent dangerous agreement' with Iran.
US President Barack Obama on Monday warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against souring nuclear negotiations with Iran with his planned Congress address.
"It does not make sense to sour the negotiations a month or two before they're about to be completed and we should play that out. If, in fact, we can get a deal, then we should embrace that," the president said in a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
"If we can't get a deal, then we'll have to make a set of decisions and, as I've said to Congress, I'll be the first one to work with them to apply even stronger measures against Iran," he said.
"But what's the rush? Unless your view is that it's not possible to get a deal with Iran and it shouldn't even be tested. And that, I cannot agree with, because as the president of the United States, I'm looking at what the options are if we don't get a diplomatic resolution. And those options are narrow, and they're not attractive," the president added.
However, despite the "real differences" between the American administration's position and that of Israel on Iran, "that's separate and apart from Mr. Netanyahu coming to Washington," Obama said.
When asked about the decision not to meet with Netanyahu when the Israeli prime minister visits Washington next month to address Congress on the Iranian threat, Obama reiterated that the decision was made due to the proximity to the elections in Israel.
Her added that "as much as I love Angela, if she was two weeks away from an election, she probably would not have received an invitation to the White House, and I suspect she wouldn't have asked for one."
He went on to say that the decision also "has to do with how we do business, and I think it's important for us to maintain these protocols because the US-Israeli relationship is not about a particular party."
Credit to Ynetnews
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