Obama to Netanyahu: Stop Criticizing Iranian Nuke Deal

U.S. President Barack Obama has reportedly asked Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to stop being so vocal with his criticism of the deal reached between Iran and the West, reports The Washington Post.

The newspaper’s columnist David Ignatius wrote on Thursday, “Obama has asked Netanyahu to take a breather from his clamorous criticism and send to Washington a team that can explore with U.S. officials a sound end-state strategy.”

“Perhaps the United States and Israel need a back channel, outside the bombastic pressure campaign by Israeli advocates,” he added in the column, which dealt with Washington’s plans for the next six months, during which the Western powers and Iran are supposed to work out a permanent agreement.

Netanyahu has openly criticized the deal that was reached between Iran and Western powers in talks in Geneva, explaining that it allows Iran to continue its nuclear program while getting sanctions relief.

Netanyahu slammed the deal on Sunday, shortly after it was reached, saying, “As we learn more and more details about the agreement that was achieved last night in Geneva, it becomes increasingly clear how bad and dangerous this agreement is to the world, the region and Israel.”

Shortly after his remarks on Sunday evening,  Netanyahu received a phone call from Obama to discuss the deal.

During that conversation, the two reportedly agreed that Israeli and American teams would hold consultations on the permanent agreement.

On Wednesday, a high-ranking Israeli officer said that Israel and the United States plan to hold a joint military drill in six months, just as the interim agreement between Iran and the West is due to expire.

“The wind from the Americans into the Israeli sails is, ‘We will maintain our capability to strike in Iran, and one of the ways we show it is to train.’ It will send signals both to Israel and to the Iranians that we are maintaining our capabilities in the military option. The atmosphere is we have to do it big time, we have to do a big show of capabilities and connections,” the official told TIME magazine.

SOURCE: Israel National News