Israeli Officials Angered by Obama’s UN Address

Wanted More Threats Against Iran

Israeli officials walked out during Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s speech at the UN General Assembly last week, but that was planned well in advance and would’ve happened no matter what he said. When watching the first day of addresses, the one that really angered Israeli officials was President Obama’s.

They were all set for Iranian calls for diplomacy, and had ready-made speeches accusing that of being an Iranian trick, but they assumed President Obama’s address would more closely parrot their own position, threatening Iran and issuing new rounds of harsh demands.

According to reports from those familiar with the situation, Israel anticipated that President Obama would demand Iran abandon its program in its entirety, and were shocked when he suggested Iran could keep a civilian program if they satisfied the US of its civilian nature.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the US the following week centered on lobbying the US to shift its position back to where it was, and while they got a pro-forma threat to attack Iran out of the president earlier this week, they’re increasingly skeptical that the US is serious about eschewing diplomacy in favor of hostility, and looking for new partners to start a war.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.