Benjamin Netanyahu talks Iran as Obama administration can’t fit meeting into schedule
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is making it clear that Israel will not wait to take out Iranian nuclear facilities.
President Barack Obama talking with Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister photo/Pete Souza, official White House photographer
In heated comments toward the United States, the Israeli prime minister said that it’s becoming clear that diplomacy will not work with Iran.
“The world tells Israel, `Wait. There’s still time,’” Netanyahu said Tuesday, according to The Associated Press. “And I say: `Wait for what? Wait until when?’ Those in the international community who refuse to put red lines before Iran don’t have a moral right to place a red light before Israel.”
The White House has turned down an offer by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to meet with President Obama later this month, U.S. and Israeli officials confirmed to Fox News.
White House spokesman Tommy Vietor later confirmed to Fox News that Obama is not expected to meet with Netanyahu, though insisted it was just a scheduling problem. He said Obama will be at the United Nations on Sept. 24 and leave the following day, while Netanyahu won’t be in the city until later in the week.
“They’re simply not in the city at the same time,” Vietor said.
He also said Netanyahu and Obama are in “frequent contact,” and that Netanyahu has instead been offered meetings with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other top officials.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Tuesday that “Israel and the United States should find a way to resolve their differences behind closed doors.”
“The United States is Israel’s principal ally and despite the differences on and the importance of keeping Israel’s ability to operation independently, we must also keep in mind the strategic importance of the partnership with the United States, and refrain from hurting it,” he said.
“The Iranian challenge is a complex one, for both Israel and the world,” the defense minister said in what has already been described as a highly unusual statement.
“Israel reserves the right and responsibility to make whatever decision necessary for its security and future and the United States respects that.
“Despite this share goal, there are some differences between the US’ and Israeli positions. These differences should be resolved behind closed doors.”
As Israel’s most prominent ally, he added, Jerusalem and Washington enjoy “Intimate intelligence ties and the US is Israel’s main back-up when it comes to security.
“The relationship between the United States and Israel are based on a friendship that goes back years and on shared values,” Barak said.
[…] an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday, the president addressed the crisis between Washington and Jerusalem over the handling of the Iranian n… Obama stressed he feels “an obligation, not pressure” to coordinate […]