Netanyahu Tells Congress Planned Deal Frees Iran to Build Nuclear Arms, Obama Hits Back
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Tuesday that the deal being negotiated between world powers and Iran would leave Tehran free to develop nuclear weapons.
In an impassioned address to the U.S. Congress, conducted even as Secretary of State John Kerry was in nuclear talks in Switzerland with his Iranian counterpart, Netanyahu branded Iran a global threat.
"That deal will not prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons," he said, placing himself in stark opposition to U.S. President Barack Obama's policy of containing Iranian ambitions through a diplomatic accord.
"It would all but guarantee that Iran gets those weapons, lots of them," he said, dismissing promises from U.S. and European leaders that the planned accord would block Iran's path to the bomb.
"Iran's nuclear program would be left largely intact. Iran's breakout time would be very short," he said.
Around 50 Democratic members stayed away from the event, but many more lawmakers from both sides of the aisle did attend, and Netanyahu was welcomed with a warm standing ovation and left to cheers and raucous applause.
"I know that my speech has been the subject of much controversy. I deeply regret that some perceive my being here as political," he said, acknowledging complaints that he has endangered Israel's close ties with Washington.
He has also been accused of using the nuclear stand-off as a platform for electioneering, two weeks ahead of Israeli polls that could threaten his ruling coalition.
"That was never my intention," he protested. "I want to thank you, Democrats and Republicans, for your common support for Israel year after year, decade after decade."
"We appreciate all that President Obama has done for Israel," he said, citing the close security cooperation between the countries.
But, despite his warm opening words, his speech built to a thorough denunciation of Obama's efforts to strike an accord, citing Iranian leaders' threats to "annihilate" Israel and "aggression" against their Middle East neighbors.
"So you see, my friends, this deal has two major concessions. One, leaving Iran with a vast nuclear program. Two, lifting the restrictions on that program in about a decade," he said.
"That's why this deal is so bad. It doesn't block Iran's path to the bomb. It paves Iran's path to the bomb."
He cited the strength of Iranian-backed factions in Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and Iraq as evidence of Tehran's regional ambitions, and recalled threats against his own people.
Thus, he said, no nuclear deal should weaken economic sanctions against Iran until its government ends its aggressive stance and alleged support for terrorist violence.
"A deal that is supposed to prevent nuclear proliferation would instead spark nuclear arms race in the most dangerous part of the planet," he warned.
"This deal won't be a farewell to arms. It would be a farewell to arms control.
"The Middle East would soon be criss-crossed by nuclear trip wires. A region where small skirmishes trigger big wars would turn into a nuclear tinderbox," he said.
"Before lifting these restrictions, the world should demand that Iran do three things.
"First, stop its aggression against its neighbors in the middle east. Second, stop supporting terrorism around the world. And third, stop threatening to annihilate my country, Israel, the one and only Jewish state."
And he concluded by hailing the U.S.-Israeli alliance.
"Even if Israel has to stand alone, Israel will stand," Netanyahu said, "but I know that America stands with Israel.
"I know that you stand with Israel. You stand with Israel because you know that the story of Israel is not only the story of the Jewish people, but of the human spirit that refuses again and again to succumb to history."
Later on Tuesday, Obama said there was "nothing new" in Netanyahu's controversial speech to Congress Tuesday, insisting the Israeli prime minister did not offer a better option than negotiations.
Netanyahu "did not offer any viable alternatives," Obama said speaking from the Oval Office.
Obama has refused to meet Netanyahu during his visit to the U.S. capital and said he did not watch the speech but saw a transcript.
"I am not focused in the politics of this, I am not focused on the theater," Obama said.
"As far as I can tell, there was nothing new."
"On the core issue, which is how to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon which would make it far more dangerous, the prime minister did not offer any viable alternatives."
"We don't yet have a deal," he added. "But if we are successful, then in fact this will be the best deal possible with to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapon."
As Obama was speaking, talks between the United States and Iran to reach an agreement continued in Switzerland.
Around an hour later, Iran denounced as "lie-spreading" Netanyahu's speech.
In a statement, foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham denounced as "very repetitious and boring Netanyahu's continuous lie-spreading about the goals and intentions behind Iran's peaceful nuclear program."
The Iranian spokeswoman said the speech was a "sign of weakness" and that it revealed the isolation of "radical groups" in Israel.
The anti-Iranian policy "is facing serious problems because of the continuous talks and Iran's serious determination to overcome this fabricated crisis," she was quoted as saying.
Earlier, an Iranian vice-president dismissed Israel's objections to nuclear talks, saying Netanyahu did not have much influence.
"I don't think (Netanyahu's voice) carries much weight," Massoumeh Ebtekar, who is vice-president for environmental affairs, told Agence France-Presse during a visit to Paris.
"They are making their efforts to derail the deal but I think the more logical lobbies on both sides are looking forward to a solution.
"The current threats in the region -- the radicalism, extremism, terrorism -- this all calls for a resolution of the issue and a stronger role for Iran."
Ebtekar said the main sticking point in the negotiations with world powers was the speed at which sweeping sanctions would be removed.
"It is and it has been from the beginning," she said.
"These sanctions have been illegal, they are unjust. They are also adversely affecting not only our environment because they are impeding our access to new technologies to curb pollution, but also the global environment."
In the wake of Netanyahu's speech, a U.S. State Department official said the United States will "confront aggressively" Iran's perceived bid to expand its influence across the Middle East even if a nuclear deal is reached.
Kerry will travel to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to reassure U.S. Gulf allies that an Iran deal would not mean Washington would turn a blind eye to the Islamic Republic's regional ambitions.
"Regardless of what happens in the nuclear file, we will continue to confront aggressively Iranian expansion in the region and Iranian aggressiveness in the region," the official said.
Iran, a Shiite Muslim nation, is blamed for helping to prop up Syrian President Bashar Assad, for supporting Huthi Shiite rebels who have seized the Yemeni capital and for trying to influence Iraqi leaders.
"You can't read into the nuclear negotiation any kind of determination of where the U.S. relationship with Iran may go in the future," the senior State Department official told reporters.
He said Washington was working closely with its majority Sunni Muslim Gulf allies to help build up their security and capabilities to defend their interests.
"Obviously the Gulf states are watching the negotiations very carefully, they have a legitimate reason to want to understand better what it is we're trying to achieve."
But he stressed: "This is not going to change any of the other aspects of our approach to Iran."
Source: Agence France Presse
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