New York Times: Netanyahu is Politically Exploiting the Iran Issue

The New York Times has accused Benjamin Netanyahu of turning Iran into a subject for his political exploitation. According to the New York Times, there is no doubt that Netanyahu wants to portray himself as a strong leader by criticizing Barack Obama in his upcoming speech to Congress. Netanyahu had previously announced that he would speak in the U.S. Congress. This speech, following an invitation from John Boehner, the Speaker of the House, has been described by the White House as a violation of protocols between the two countries. John Boehner announced on Wednesday that he had invited the Israeli Prime Minister to speak about the threats posed by Iran and extremist Islam in Congress. The invitation set February 11, corresponding to Bahman 22, as the date for the Israeli Prime Minister's speech. Israeli elections will be held fourteen days after Netanyahu's speech in the U.S. Congress. The New York Times criticized the invitation to Netanyahu in its editorial on February 4, calling it a "hostile act" against the Obama administration and "against diplomacy and logic." The New York Times stated that Netanyahu aims to return to the premiership in the Israeli elections by attacking Obama's policies regarding Iran. The article noted that Netanyahu has long spoken about the threat of Iran but has not provided a real alternative and continues to wait for increased sanctions against Iran or military options. The editorial emphasized that if other countries reduce sanctions against Iran, the U.S. will gain nothing from intensifying sanctions. However, if a final agreement is reached between Iran and the powers regarding Iran's nuclear program and Congress sees flaws in this agreement, Congress can still act to intensify sanctions. The New York Times pointed out that Netanyahu's attack on Obama's policies from Congress, which is only a mile from the White House, serves the goal of the Speaker of the House, who believes the President has not acted strongly in the national security arena. This prominent Democratic-supporting newspaper emphasized that "regardless of the tension over Iran, Obama remains committed to America's security obligations to Israel, but certainly disrespecting Obama will harm the relations between the two countries, which have already suffered greatly over the past six years." The Israeli Prime Minister's office announced that Netanyahu would visit the U.S. in Esfand to speak at the annual AIPAC conference and on the 12th of Esfand in Congress. John Boehner had invited Netanyahu to Washington on Bahman 22 as a guest of Congress. The announcement of Mr. Boehner's invitation to Netanyahu, one day after Barack Obama's speech to Congress, has divided Congress and strained relations between Congress and the White House. The White House stated that Netanyahu and Boehner have "violated protocol." Obama stated last week that if Congress seeks to intensify sanctions against Iran while the 1+5 negotiations with Iran are still ongoing, he would veto such a resolution. The U.S. government is displeased that alongside Republicans, some important Democratic allies of Obama are also insisting on intensifying sanctions, while the President believes that diplomacy should still be given a chance to succeed against Iran. The White House has stated that Obama will not meet with Netanyahu "because, based on a longstanding policy, the President does not meet with leaders of countries that are on the verge of elections." Netanyahu is the leader of the Likud party in Israel, and the country is on the verge of parliamentary elections. Amid escalating tensions between Netanyahu and Republicans and some Democrats in Congress on one side and the White House on the other, recent polls in Israel show that most Israeli voters still consider Netanyahu suitable for the premiership. Support for Netanyahu had decreased in previous weeks, but this trend has now reversed in favor of him as the leader of the Likud party. The latest poll results in Israel were published on February 4 in the country's media. According to these polls, the escalation of security tensions for Israel, following last Sunday's attack in the Golan Heights, which resulted in the death of a senior Iranian officer and several Hezbollah operatives, has increased support for Netanyahu's retention of the premiership. Netanyahu has stated that only he can "fight" Hezbollah, security threats, and Iran's nuclear program, while other Israeli politicians are "weak." However, the New York Times noted that Netanyahu's actions have also made John Kerry impatient, as the U.S. Secretary of State has recently contacted counterparts in 50 countries and asked them to stand alongside Israel and the U.S. against Palestinian membership in the International Criminal Court. According to Israeli media, Yair Lapid, leader of the Yesh Atid party and former finance minister, stated in a speech on February 5 that Netanyahu is destroying Israel's vital relations with the U.S. by dragging an internal Israeli election speech into Congress. In this context, the differences between the White House and Congress over the invitation to Netanyahu to speak have emerged.