Obama attacks Netanyahu's credibility
Obama told Reuters that a deal with Iran to freeze its nuclear activity for at least 10 years, with verification measures, would be "far more effective in controlling their nuclear program than any military action we could take, any military action Israel could take and far more effective than sanctions will be."
He also said Netanyahu has been wrong before -- pointing to the 2013 interim deal with Iran.
"Netanyahu made all sorts of claims. This was going to be a terrible deal. This was going to result in Iran getting $50 billion worth of relief. Iran would not abide by the agreement. None of that has come true," Obama said. "It has turned out that in fact, during this period we've seen Iran not advance its program. In many ways, it's rolled back elements of its program."
Netanyahu, meanwhile, reaffirmed that the U.S.-Israeli relationship remains strong and, despite controversy surrounding his Tuesday address to Congress, said the two nations "will weather this current disagreement."
"Our friendship will weather the current disagreement as well, to grow even stronger in the future because we share the same dreams...because the values that unite us are much stronger than the differences that divide us," he said in his address to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee annual policy conference, drawing enthusiastic applause from the crowd.
Polling has shown Americans disapprove of House Speaker John Boehner's move to invite Netanyahu to speak to Congress without notifying the White House. That, and the timing of the speech so close to the Israeli election, has critics accusing Boehner and Netanyahu of politicizing the issue of Iranian nuclear talks, and a growing number of Democrats are planning to boycott what they see as an attack on the president.
But in his address to AIPAC, the prime minister refuted those critics, insisting that his Tuesday speech is "not intended to inject Israel into the American partisan debate," and reaffirming his support for Obama.
"My speech is not intended to show any disrespect to Obama or the esteemed office that he holdsI have great respect for both," he said.
Netanyahu instead framed his Tuesday address as part of a "moral obligation" to sound the alarm on Iran, which he warned has "vowed to annihilate Israel, and if develops nuclear weapons, it can achieve that goal."
"As prime minister of Israel, I have a moral obligation to speak up in the face of these threats while there is time to avert them," he said.
Continued here:
Obama attacks Netanyahu's credibility