President Obama has sent a query to Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, asking the fiery and blunt-talking prime minister to take a break from his criticism of the U.S.-forged deal with Iran.
The Washington Post reported that Mr. Obama made the request during a phone call with the Israeli leader.
Mr. Netanyahu has publicly slammed the deal, saying Iran has won concessions that put Israel’s security in jeopardy. In the phone call, Mr. Obama said he’d keep Israel authorities in the loop on the final settlement arrangement —which could come as early as in six months — if Mr. Netanyahu could quiet his rhetoric a bit, The Hill reported.
Mr. Obama also reiterated that America and Israel have the same policy goals over Iran.
But Mr. Netanyahu seems to disagree, seeing the U.S. agreement with Iran a “horrible mistake,” and refusing to bind Israel to its terms, he said shortly after the deal was announced.
And just Thursday, The Times of Israel reported Mr. Netanyahu as saying: “The largest darkness that threatens the world today is a nuclear Iran. We are bound to do all we can to prevent this darkness. If possible, we will do this diplomatically. If not, we will act as a light unto the nations.”
It wasn’t immediately clear how Mr. Netanyahu responded to Mr. Obama’s telephoned request.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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