The White House ratcheted up its rhetoric against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, just days after the leader addressed a joint session of Congress.
The National Security Council tweeted:
The linked column from Fareed Zakaria states, “For almost 25 years now, Netanyahu has argued that Iran is on the verge of producing a nuclear weapon.”
{mosads}President Obama panned Netanyahu’s Tuesday address to Congress, saying it offered “nothing new,” adding that the leader “didn’t offer any viable alternatives” to diplomacy on the core issue of preventing Iran from getting nukes.
Netanyahu was welcomed to Congress with thunderous applause, especially among Republicans, where he warned that current negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program could pave “Iran’s path to the bomb.”
Many Democrats boycotted the speech in a show of solidarity with Obama, who didn’t attend because it fell two weeks before Netanyahu is up for reelection. Vice President Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry also did not attend.
Last month, Kerry said during a hearing on Capitol Hill that Netanyahu was “wrong” on U.S.-led talks over Iran’s nuclear program, suggesting he was prematurely judging the results of current negotiations.