Advertisement

Iran Nuclear Negotiations And The Netanyahu Speech

48:08
Download Audio
Resume

On the eve of Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu’s controversial address to Congress, we look at the US-Israel falling out over Iran nuclear negotiations.

In this Tuesday, March 4, 2014 file photo, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accompanied by his wife Sara, right, speaks before the screening of the television documentary "Israel: The Royal Tour" at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles. (AP)
In this Tuesday, March 4, 2014 file photo, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accompanied by his wife Sara, right, speaks before the screening of the television documentary "Israel: The Royal Tour" at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles. (AP)

So here is the state of play on nuclear negotiations with Iran:  US Secretary of State John Kerry is in Switzerland – flew there yesterday – to push on for a high stakes deal with Tehran.  A deal to keep them, he says, from getting nuclear weapons.  A deal that he says is better than war.  And, at the same time, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has flown into Washington, uninvited by the White House, just invited by John Boehner, to go before Congress and – all expect – blast the deal John Kerry is pursuing.  This hour On Point:  Netanyahu’s speech, America’s deal, and Iran’s nuclear future.
-- Tom Ashbrook

Guests

Robert Einhorn, senior fellow with the Arms Control and Non-Proliferation Initiative at the Brookings Institution. Former US Assistant  Secretary of State for Non-proliferation.

Michael Singh, managing director at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Former national security policy adviser. (@michaelsinghdc)

Dov Zakheim, senior advisor for the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Former Deputy Undersecretary for Defense. Author of the book, "A Vulcan's Tale: How the Bush Administration Mismanaged the Reconstruction of Afghanistan."

From Tom’s Reading List

The Wall Street Journal: White House-Netanyahu Rift Isn’t Over the Speech, but the Deal — "As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads to Washington for a controversial speech to Congress next week, the immediate problem isn’t that he and the Obama administration disagree. At the moment, the problem actually is that they seem to agree on this: As things stand now, the Israeli leader is virtually certain to oppose and try to block the deal the U.S. is negotiating with Iran over its nuclear program."

New York Times: Obama Sends Top Officials to Address Jewish Group — "The Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate announced Thursday that they would host the Israeli prime minister in the Capitol on the day of his speech. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, and Harry Reid of Nevada, the minority leader, said they would meet with Mr. Netanyahu in Mr. McConnell’s office on Tuesday afternoon."

BBC News: Netanyahu 'not correct' on Iran nuclear talks - Kerry — "US Secretary of State John Kerry has questioned the judgement of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu over his stance on Iran's nuclear program. Mr Netanyahu has criticised the US and others for "giving up" on trying to stop Iran obtaining nuclear weapons. The Israeli PM 'may not be correct', Mr Kerry said after attending the latest Iran nuclear talks in Geneva."

This program aired on March 2, 2015.

Advertisement

More from On Point

Listen Live
Close