BEN GURION AIRPORT, ISRAEL // Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu headed to Washington on Sunday on what he said was a “historic mission” to try to stop a nuclear deal with Iran.
During his 48-hour visit, Mr Netanyahu will controversially address a joint session of the US Congress in a bid to garner last-minute support to halt an emerging world deal with Iran over its nuclear programme.
This move has infuriated the White House, but the Israeli prime minister – who will also address the annual policy conference of the pro-Israel AIPAC lobby – has refused to back down.
“I’m going to Washington on a fateful, even historic, mission,” he told reporters on the tarmac at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, shortly before his plane took off.
“I feel deep and sincere concern for the security of Israel’s citizens and for the fate of the state and of all our people,” he said.
“I will do everything in my power to ensure our future.”
Mr Netanyahu will address AIPAC on Monday before heading to Capitol Hill the following day, after which he will fly home.
In his remarks, the prime minister made a veiled allusion to the controversy stoked by his visit, noting the upcoming Jewish holiday of Purim, which starts at sundown on Wednesday and remembers the biblical story of how the Jews were saved from the ancient Persians.
In the story, Queen Esther, the young Jewish wife of the Persian king, risks her life by appearing before him unannounced in order to expose the imminent threat to the Jewish people.
Israel believes Tehran and world powers are likely to reach a deal that eases international sanctions on Iran without applying sufficiently stringent safeguards to stop it from developing nuclear weapons.
Mr Netanyahu’s trip comes just four weeks before a March 31 target for a framework deal, with negotiators intending to pin down the technical details of a comprehensive agreement by a June 30 deadline.
It also comes just two weeks before a March 17 general election in Israel in which the Israeli leader is hoping to win a third consecutive term in office.
* Agence France-Presse
