President Barack Obama said he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “have a very real difference” about nuclear negotiations with Iran.
Obama was speaking to reporters in Washington at the same time Netanyahu was addressing a group in Israel.
According to Fox News, senior administration officials “are telling journalists, off the record, that a speech by Bibi could wreck Israeli-American relations, leave the Jewish state friendless and veto-less at the U.N. and unprotected from the aggression of the ayatollahs in Tehran.”
Netanyahu, for his part, continues to object to international negotiations with Iran and says his trip to the United States next month is meant to articulate Israel’s objections to Congress.
He took to Twitter on Tuesday to rally support for his cause, tweeting, “I’m determined to speak before Congress to stop Iran. RETWEET if I have your support.”
The graphic included a photo of the prime minister with the words: “A dangerous agreement with Iran is taking shape in Munich which would risk Israel’s existence. Therefore, I’m determined to travel to Washington and present Israel’s position before Congress and the American people.”
Obama has said he will not meet with Netanyahu when he comes to Washington at House Speaker John Boehner’s invitation, at first saying the White House was not consulted, which Boehner later denied.
Obama then cited precedence that U.S. presidents do not meet with foreign leaders facing an upcoming election, though former President Bill Clinton did just that.
In 1996, Clinton met with then Prime Minister Shimon Peres less than a month before elections.
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