America
Netanyahu slams 'a very bad deal' with Iran
By
By Arun Kumar
Washington, March 3
In a defiant speech before
a joint session of Congress, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
on Tuesday slammed the deal the US and its allies are negotiating with
Iran over its nuclear programme as "very bad".
"This is a bad
deal "a very bad deal. We're better off without it," he said, directly
challenging President Barack Obama's argument that a diplomatic accord
would be more effective than additional sanctions or military action.
Any
agreement that stops short of completely dismantling Tehran's nuclear
programme would be ineffective, Netanyahu said, drawing frequent
applause from lawmakers from both chambers controlled by the
Republicans.
"The alternative to this bad deal is a much better
deal" not war, he said, as he ended his speech to a standing ovation
with a quote from Moses: "Be strong and resolute."
Republican
speaker John Boehner invited Netanyahu to share his viewpoint with the
US Congress without any reference to the White House straining ties
between the two allies as also their leaders.
Obama has declined
to meet the premier on this trip with the White House saying that he was
doing so to not appear taking sides in the Israeli election due in two
weeks.
About 50 members of Obama's Democratic Party also skipped the speech.
Netanyahu said the current deal being discussed with Iran will "guarantee" that the Islamic republic gets nuclear weapons.
The deal will allow Iran to keep its major infrastructure "with a short breakout time for a bomb", he said.
"That's why this deal is so bad. ... It paves Iran's path to a bomb," he said.
Referring
to the controversy surrounding the speech, Netanyahu said that was
never his intention and US-Israeli relations "must always remain above
politics".
He thanked lawmakers from both parties for their
bipartisan support of Israel and said Israel appreciates what presidents
from Truman to Obama have done for Israel.
Listing various
things Obama has done, including provision of Interceptor missiles
during Israel's war last year with Hamas in Gaza, he said: "I will
always be grateful to President Obama for that support."
Ahead of
Tuesday's controversial speech, Obama Monday slammed Netanyahu's
approach on a nuclear deal with Iran saying the Israeli leader had been
wrong about the 2013 interim deal with Iran.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at [email protected])