Israeli PM unapologetic about addressing US Congress

Speaking at the annual Washington conference of powerful pro-Israel lobby group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Benjamin Netanyahu defended his decision to address congress.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressing the annual American Israel Public Affairs Conference in Washington DC on March 2, 2015. Pete Marovich/EPA

NEW YORK // Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to deliver a sharp warning against a nuclear deal with Iran when he addresses a joint session of the US Congress on Tuesday, weeks ahead of a deadline in US-led negotiations.

He will likely urge new sanctions on Tehran during the address, capping weeks of acrimony that has fuelled tensions between Israel and Washington.

Mr Netanyahu and Barack Obama have never enjoyed a close personal relationship, but the latest incident has further tested their ties.

White House officials were incensed that the Israeli ambassador and Republican congressional leader John Boehner planned the congress address behind their backs – an unprecedented and especially galling move for the Obama administration given the steadfast support that the United States gives Israel.

Mr Netanyahu is planning to provide details of the emerging nuclear deal that “congress members are unaware of”, said an Israeli official on Sunday night.

“The prime minister is going to congress to explain what they don’t know about this agreement that it is a bad agreement,” the aide said.

Speaking at the annual Washington conference of powerful pro-Israel lobby group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), on Monday, an unapologetic Mr Netanyahu defended his decision to address congress, while also seeking to address the criticism leveled at him in the US and Israel.

“My speech is not intended to show any disrespect for President Obama,” he said.

“The last thing I would want is for Israel to become a partisan issue, and I regret that some people have perceived my visit here this week as doing that.”

But he emphasised that he had a “moral obligation” to warn against “an Iranian regime that is threatening to destroy Israel”, and that while both Israel and the US agreed Iran should not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon, the stakes for each country are very different.

“American leaders worry about the security of their country, Israeli leaders worry about the survival of their country,” Mr Netanyahu said

The Obama administration says the talks are the best hope of containing Iran’s ability to quickly build a nuclear weapon, and will help stave off a military confrontation with Tehran that the Middle East can ill afford, protecting both US interests and Israel’s national security. The diplomatic breakthrough would also be a foreign policy achievement for a president who has had few successes overseas.

US secretary of state John Kerry is currently in Switzerland for talks with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, to work out a final deal ahead of the March 24 deadline for a framework agreement between Iran and the so-called P5+1, the five UN Security Council members and Germany. Tehran insists it is not pursuing a nuclear weapon.

The talks have already been extended twice since November 2013 and both sides are racing to finalise the deal before already shrinking political windows close in both Washington and Tehran, where there is significant resistance.

Mr Netanyahu has said he would only accept a deal that totally dismantles Iran’s domestic enrichment capabilities. Some Arab Gulf officials have said they would pursue the same terms, raising fears of a regional nuclear race.

Washington counters that Iran would never agree to fully dismantle.

Despite his aide’s claims, Mr Netanyahu is unlikely to bring any radically new insights to the table. His speech – coming just two weeks before Israeli elections – has been largely seen in both Israel and the US as an opportunity for him to deliver a campaign speech highlighting his national security credentials and the support he enjoys on Capitol Hill.

For Republicans, the speech is a way to cast Mr Obama’s foreign policy as a dangerous failure ahead of the 2016 election.

But even staunchly pro-Israel Democrats have accused Mr Netanyahu of colluding with Republicans to score political points and turning the bilateral relationship into a political issue.

Over 30 Democratic members of congress are expected to boycott the speech.

The day before Mr Netanyahu’s congress address, the White House sought to ease tensions and preempt any implications that Mr Obama is not committed to Israel’s security, highlighting its military support for Israel by showing that since the president took office in 2009, Israel has received over US$20 billion (Dh73.5bn) in military aid – more than any other country.

The same day Mr Kerry defended Israel at a UN human rights body in Geneva.

In Israel, there are fears that Mr Netanyahu’s perceived politicisation of its most crucial bilateral relationship and frayed relations with Democrats could undermine the country’s interests.

A group of nearly 200 former defence and intelligence officials oppose the speech, with its head, retired general Amnon Reshef, saying: “It is time the prime minister listened to us before he wrecks our strategic interests with our closest ally. Nothing good for Israel can come from humiliating the US president.”