Dagan Warns Netanyahu: 'The Problem is Iran, Not America'

Meir Dagan, former head of Mossad, has sharply criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urging him to stop the ongoing conflict with U.S. President Barack Obama. Speaking at the annual security and counter-terrorism conference in Herzliya on September 6, Dagan told Netanyahu that 'the problem is Iran, not Barack Obama.' Dagan stated that Netanyahu's confrontation with the U.S. President and government has jeopardized Israel's interests and that instead of focusing on resolving the Iranian nuclear issue, he has been 'butting heads' with Obama. The Jerusalem Post reported on September 7 that Dagan said Netanyahu has turned his conflict with Obama into a strategic policy, which he must end. Dagan also mentioned that Netanyahu should stop responding in the media to Obama's statements regarding the nuclear agreement with Iran. He added that his opposition to Netanyahu is 'not a hidden matter' and that it is time to express things 'honestly.' He stated that he does not represent Israel or the government and does not agree with Netanyahu's actions and demeanor. According to the Jerusalem Post, Dagan mocked Netanyahu's claims that Iran 'is a threat to America as well,' stating sarcastically that 'Iran's missiles will never be able to target America.' Meanwhile, Dagan expressed the opinion that due to the dissatisfaction of some regional countries with the Iranian nuclear agreement and global powers, there has been a 'distrust' created between these countries and the U.S. Since leaving the Mossad in 2011, Dagan has become one of Netanyahu's most significant critics, especially concerning Iran. He called Netanyahu's speech to Congress in March, despite the Obama administration's opposition, 'nonsense' and a serious mistake, stating that it would have counterproductive results. At that time, Israeli Channel 2 aired footage of Dagan watching Netanyahu's speech on television, where he harshly criticized Netanyahu, and when Netanyahu claimed that Iran could reach sufficient enriched uranium for a bomb within a year, Dagan shouted, 'Nonsense; it takes much longer than that.' Seven weeks ago, Netanyahu also referred to the Iranian nuclear agreement with six negotiating countries as 'a historic mistake' and called for its rejection in Congress during a meeting with dozens of Congress members who recently visited Israel. However, Netanyahu claimed in recent days that his efforts to convince the U.S. of the 'dangers' of the nuclear agreement with Iran 'have not failed.' According to the Israeli Prime Minister, 'a large part of American public opinion has concluded that this agreement is not good.' On the other hand, with the increasing number of senators supporting the nuclear agreement with Iran and the weakening likelihood of its rejection in the upcoming vote in Washington Congress, Israeli opposition leaders have sharply criticized Netanyahu. According to Israeli media, Yair Lapid, leader of the opposition party Yesh Atid, stated on September 6 that 'Netanyahu has failed to prevent the approval of the agreement with Iran and has also harmed Israel-U.S. relations.' Barack Obama has refused to meet with the Israeli Prime Minister and other officials in recent months. Concurrently, with Netanyahu's failure against the U.S. government regarding Iran and the relative limitation of support for Israel to the Democrats in the U.S., the actual influence of AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby in America, has also come into question; AIPAC had financed some of the advertisements against the agreement.