WASHINGTON — Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday tried to calm tensions with Israel before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s congressional address, while Netanyahu arrived in Washington for the speech the White House doesn’t want him to give.
Kerry, in an interview broadcast before he arrived in Switzerland for talks with Iran’s foreign minister, said that Netanyahu was welcome to speak in the U.S. and that the administration did not want the event “turned into some great political football.”
That sentiment was a step back from some of the sharp rhetoric over Iran’s nuclear program between the allies in recent weeks. Kerry said he talked to Netanyahu as recently as Saturday. Netanyahu is set to speak to Congress on Tuesday.
Kerry stressed that Israel was safer as a result of the short-term nuclear pact that world powers and Iran reached in late 2013, and he described that improvement as the “standard we will apply to any agreement” with the Islamic Republic.
Officials have described the United States, Europe, Russia and China as considering a compromise that would see Iran’s nuclear activities severely curtailed for at least a decade, with the restrictions and U.S. and Western economic penalties eased in the final years of a deal.
“We are going to test whether or not diplomacy can prevent this weapon from being created, so you don’t have to turn to additional measures, including the possibility of a military confrontation,” Kerry said on ABC’s “This Week.”
“Our hope is that diplomacy can work,” he said. “And I believe, given our success of the interim agreement, we deserve the benefit of the doubt to find out whether or not we can get a similarly good agreement with respect to the future.”
Netanyahu will press his opposition to a diplomatic accommodation of Iran’s program in his speech to Congress.
“We are not here to offend President Obama, whom we respect very much,” said a Netanyahu adviser, who was not authorized to be identified. “The prime minister is here to warn, in front of any stage possible, the dangers” of the agreement that might be taking shape.
The adviser, who spoke shortly before the delegation touched down in Washington, said Israel was well aware of the details of the emerging nuclear deal, and they included Western compromises that were dangerous for Israel.
Still, he tried to lower tensions by saying that Israel “does not oppose every deal” and was doing its best to warn the U.S. of the risks entailed in the current one.
The invitation to speak to Congress extended by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Netanyahu’s acceptance have caused an uproar that has exposed tensions between Israel and the U.S., its most important ally.
By consenting to speak, Netanyahu angered the White House, which was not consulted in advance, and Democrats, who were forced to choose between showing support for Israel and backing the president.
“I will do everything in my ability to secure our future,” Netanyahu said before flying to Washington.
Boehner said Iran’s nuclear ambitions were a threat beyond the region.
“We’re not going to resolve this issue by sticking our heads in the sand,” Boehner said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
He said Netanyahu “can talk about this threat, I believe, better than anyone.”
The congressional speech also has sparked criticism in Israel, where Netanyahu is seeking re-election March 17.
He also planned to speak Monday at the annual conference of the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC.
