Javdanfar: Netanyahu's Speech Likely Has No Impact on Israeli Elections

Barack Obama, the President of the United States, reacted for the first time on Tuesday to the statements made by Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, in Congress, stating that Netanyahu did not present any suitable alternative proposals for resolving the Iranian nuclear dispute in his speech. Meir Javdanfar, a political science professor in Israel, discusses the implications of Netanyahu's speech in an interview with Reza Jamali on Radio Farda. Obama emphasized that he did not see anything new in Netanyahu's speech. The U.S. President added that he had not watched the speech but had read its text. Javdanfar notes that the U.S. President's reaction was not unexpected, as Netanyahu spoke in Congress contrary to the norm of inviting leaders of countries. He mentions that opposition groups interpreted the Prime Minister's action as contrary to Israel's interests, with the leader of the opposition emphasizing that this speech harmed the Tel Aviv-Washington relationship. At the same time, Javdanfar adds that Netanyahu's supporters praise the speech, believing it will prevent a bad deal with Iran. Regarding the impact of this speech on the upcoming Israeli elections, the political science professor states that one should wait for polls, but it does not seem to have much effect on Netanyahu's popularity, as the priority for the Israeli people in this election is not Iran.