Obama: Netanyahu Did Not Provide Any Practical Alternative for Negotiating with Iran

Barack Obama, the President of the United States, reacted on Tuesday to the statements of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, made in Congress, stating that Mr. Netanyahu did not offer any practical proposals or alternatives for negotiating with Iran during his speech. According to CNN, Barack Obama clarified at the White House during a meeting with the U.S. Secretary of Defense that he had not seen Netanyahu's speech but had read its text. The U.S. President remarked that there was nothing new in Netanyahu's speech. Obama emphasized that the Israeli Prime Minister made similar claims regarding the interim Geneva agreement. Iran and the P5+1 group reached a temporary agreement in Geneva in 2013, under which Iran halted some of its sensitive nuclear activities in exchange for a reduction in sanctions against the Islamic Republic by the international community. Based on this agreement, negotiations are currently ongoing in Geneva to achieve a comprehensive and final agreement regarding the resolution of Iran's nuclear dispute. However, Barack Obama stated that he agrees with Netanyahu regarding Iran's regional approach, support for terrorism, and the threat to Israel's existence. The U.S. President noted that they disagree on the main issue of how to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, which would make the country more dangerous. Obama mentioned that due to sanctions imposed by the U.S. and the international community, Iran has come to the negotiating table. Over the past year, based on the interim Geneva agreement, Iran has halted part of its nuclear program and accepted inspections to verify this agreement. The U.S. President further stated that the agreement currently being negotiated with Iran could delay the progress of Iran's nuclear program. In his speech to Congress, the Israeli Prime Minister asserted that the potential agreement being negotiated by the P5+1 with Iran is a 'bad' deal, which would not only fail to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons but would also pave the way for such an acquisition. Netanyahu also claimed that this agreement jeopardizes the security of Israel and the international community.