President Obama: ‘Real Difference’ With Israel Over Iranian Nuke Negotiations

United States President Barack Obama acknowledged he had a “very real difference” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over nuclear negotiations with Iran. Obama admitted this Monday during a news conference in Washington, D.C., with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Soundbite: “I don’t want to be coy. The Prime Minister [Netanyahu] and I have a very real difference around Iran, Iran sanctions. I have been very clear, and Angela agrees with me, and [UK Prime Minister] David Cameron agrees with me, and the others who are a member of the negotiations agree, that it does not make sense to sour the negotiations a month or two before they’re about to be completed. And we should play that out. If, in fact, we can get a deal, then we should embrace that. If we can’t get a deal, then we’ll have to make a set of decisions.”

Netanyahu criticized the nuclear negotiations during a campaign speech on Monday at a Likud Party election event. He said, “A bad deal with Iran is taking shape in Munich [Germany], one that will endanger the existence of Israel.”

Netanyahu was invited by Republican House Speaker John Boehner to speak to Congress in March. The prime minister plans to outline Israel’s objections to the negotiations with Iran. President Obama refuses to meet with Netanyahu during the visit, citing protocol that U.S. presidents do not meet with foreign leaders facing upcoming elections two weeks away.

This latest spat between the Obama administration and Netanyahu highlights the growing split in U.S.-Israel relations. Israel has long warned that a nuclear-armed Iran would pose a grave threat to world peace and threaten Israel’s very existence, citing calls by Iranian leaders for destruction of the Jewish state. Iran, however, claims that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

The Associated Press reported on February 3 that the U.S. might make a deal and allow Iran to keep most of its known nuclear centrifuges used to enrich uranium. Existing United Nations Security Council resolutions ban any Iranian enrichment at all. The possibility of a White House compromise shows how eager the U.S. is for a deal.

The Trumpet has long predicted that U.S.-Israel relations will reach a breaking point. For a complete Bible-based forecast on what will soon happen in the Middle East, request our free booklet TheKing of the South.