Channels

Photo: AFP
President Obama
Photo: AFP

Obama: Netanyahu's interference in US affairs unprecedented

US president says PM is wrong on 'substance' of nuclear deal with Iran; 'I think that the basic assumptions that he's made are incorrect,' he says.

WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama told CNN he does not remember a time in which a foreign leader interfered in American politics the way Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been doing in his efforts to thwart the nuclear deal with Tehran.

 

 

In an interview scheduled to air on Sunday, Fareed Zakaria asked the president whether it was "appropriate of a foreign head of government to inject himself into an American affair," to which the president responded he does not recall such an example.

 

Obama asked about Netanyahu's interference in Iran deal    ( )

Obama asked about Netanyahu's interference in Iran deal

סגורסגור

שליחה לחבר

 הקלידו את הקוד המוצג
תמונה חדשה

שלח
הסרטון נשלח לחברך

סגורסגור

הטמעת הסרטון באתר שלך

 קוד להטמעה:

 

He asserted that "on the substance, the prime minister is wrong on this. I think that the basic assumptions that he's made are incorrect. If, in fact, my argument is right that this is the best way for Iran not to get a nuclear weapon, then that's not just good for the United States, that is very good for Israel."

 

In another clip from the interview recorded on Thursday, Obama elaborated on his comment that "Iran's hardliners were making common cause with the Republicans," saying both share the same "ideological commitment not to get a deal done."

 

Obama about Republican opponents of the deal

Obama about Republican opponents of the deal

סגורסגור

שליחה לחבר

 הקלידו את הקוד המוצג
תמונה חדשה

שלח
הסרטון נשלח לחברך

סגורסגור

הטמעת הסרטון באתר שלך

 קוד להטמעה:

 
Obama told Zakaria that a constructive relationship with Iran could be a byproduct of the deal, but it won't happen immediately. If at all.

 

Iran's "nuclear problem" must be dealt with first, the president said. The agreement reached last month by the US and five other world powers to remove crippling economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear program achieves that goal "better than any alternative," he added.
 
Obama asserted that resolving the Iranian nuclear issue makes it possible to open broader talks with Iran on other issues. He named Syria as an example.

 

"Is there the possibility that having begun conversations around this narrow issue that you start getting some broader discussions about Syria, for example, and the ability of all the parties involved to try to arrive at a political transition that keeps the country intact and does not further fuel the growth of ISIS and other terrorist organizations. I think that's possible," Obama said, referring to the Islamic State group by one of its acronyms. "But I don't think it happens immediately."
 
The interview was taped hours before Chuck Schumer, the Senate's leading Jewish Democrat, announced he would oppose the agreement. Congress is expected to vote in September on a measure disapproving the deal, which Obama has promised a swift veto. Lawmakers would then have to find enough votes to override the president.
 
In the interview, Obama did not answer directly when asked whether he would have to use military force to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon if the deal falls through.

 

"I have a general policy on big issues like this not to anticipate failure," Obama said. "And I'm not going to anticipate failure now because I think we have the better argument."
 
On Saturday, 29 American scientists sent a letter to President Obama praising the Iran deal and calling it "innovative" and "stringent," the New York Times reported.

 

The two-page letter was signed by some of the world's top nuclear weapons and arms control, including Nobel laureates, nuclear scientists and former White House science advisers.



 

The Associated Press contribured to this report.

 


פרסום ראשון: 08.09.15, 09:05
 new comment
Warning:
This will delete your current comment