America
Obama, Netanyahu take pot shots over deal with Iran
US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
took pot shots at each other as the latter warned against entering a
"very bad" deal with Iran over its nuclear programme.
"This is a
bad deal - a very bad deal. We're better off without it," he said in a
defiant speech before a joint session of Congress Tuesday on a trip that
has raised White House's hackles.
Directly challenging Obama's
argument that a diplomatic accord would be more effective than
additional sanctions or military action, he said any agreement that
stops short of completely dismantling Tehran's nuclear programme would
be ineffective.
"The alternative to this bad deal is a much
better deal" not war, Netanyahu said drawing frequent applause from
lawmakers from both chambers controlled by the Republicans.
But about 50 members of Obama's Democratic Party skipped the speech calling it an insult to Obama.
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.
Hours later, Obama
who has declined to meet the premier on this trip ostensibly not to
appear to take sides in the Israeli election due in two weeks, said
Netanyahu had offered no "viable alternatives" to nuclear talks with
Iran.
Speaking in the Oval Office alongside Defence Secretary
Ashton Carter, Obama said he didn't watch the speech, but had skimmed
over Netanyahu's remarks and found "there was nothing new".
Netanyahu
made almost the same speech when he warned against the interim deal
reached with Iran, he said. But that deal has resulted in a freeze and
rolling back of Iran's nuclear programme.
Netanyahu's alternative
to the talks, Obama said amounts to no deal at all and that would lead
Iran to redouble efforts to build a nuclear bomb.
"So the bottom
line is this: We don't yet have a deal. It may be that Iran cannot say
yes to a good deal," he said asserting that he "would rather have no
deal than a bad deal".
"But if we're successful in negotiating,
then, in fact, this will be the best deal possible to prevent Iran from
obtaining a nuclear weapon."
"Nothing else comes close. Sanctions
won't do it. Even military action would not be as successful as the
deal that we have put forward," the president said.
Obama said he
"thoroughly agreed" with Netanyahu's observation "that the bond between
the United States of America is unbreakable" and "it is very important
for us not to politicice the relationship between Israel and the United
States".
But "it's very important for all of us Americans to
realise that we have a system of government in which foreign policy runs
through the executive branch and the president, not through other
channels", he said questioning Boehner's invitation to Netanyahu.
The
New York Times in an editorial agreed calling "Netanyahu's Unconvincing
Speech to Congress exploitative political theatre" intended to
challenge Obama's foreign policy.
"Even Washington doesn't often
see this level of exploitative political theatre; it was made worse
because it was so obviously intended to challenge President Obama's
foreign policy," it said.
The Washington Post acknowledged that
concerns about a prospective nuclear agreement with Iran raised by
Netanyahu are not new, but said Obama nevertheless "needs to provide
real answers to Netanyahu's arguments".
"Netanyahu's arguments
deserve a serious response from the Obama administration - one it has
yet to provide," it said noting "The White House has sought to dismiss
the Israeli leader as a politician seeking re-election".
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at [email protected])