White House: Idea of a Better Iran Deal Is a ‘Fantasy’

White House Says Netanyahu Demands Unrealistic

Faced with a solid week and a half of complaints from Israeli officials, the Israel Lobby, and US Congressional hawks, the Obama Administration is lashing complaints against the terms of the Iran deal, insisting the “better deal” argument is an unreasonable fantasy.

Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly complained that he believes the deal agreed to was a bad one, and has insisted the US should’ve held out for a better deal. White House officials noted that Netanyahu’s demands, effectively for Iran to completely capitulate and get nothing in return, was just never going to happen.

While Netanyahu is widely believed to be holding out for a multi-billion dollar aid package from the US as reparations, officials also expressed frustration at the difficulty of getting him to negotiate even on that issue, saying “it’s hard to have reasoned discussions with Israel.”

With most of the Congressional opposition stemming from Israeli opposition, talking with them about the pact seems no easier, as the Senate is determined to echo demands for a better deal and even less willing to lay out what they imagined that would look like, or how to get there.

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.