Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue to press the United States to move against Iran, saying it is “Israel’s vital security interest” to see America act and that it was his responsibility as prime minister to keep the heat on US officials.
At the same time, he sought to downplay the seriousness of the split between he and President Obama, saying that he and Obama had a “good conversation” about their “common goal of stopping Iran.”
The relationship is a frayed one, and that’s being polite, with former State department spokesman P.J. Crowley saying of the relationship “they don’t like each other very much and there are serious differences between our interests and Israel’s own.”
Netanyahu’s “pressure” is increasingly unwelcome during election season, with Israel’s opposition leader accusing him of “meddling” in the US vote and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D – CA) pressing Netanyahu to “step back and clarify your remarks.”
