Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu got into a diplomatic shouting match with US Ambassador Dan Shapiro over US President Barack Obama's handling of Iran's nuclear program, saying "time has run out" for diplomacy, Yediot Aharonot cited a source as saying on Friday.
A source that participated in the meeting said that a particularly angry and stressed Netanyahu began a tirade against the US president, attacking him for not doing enough on Iran. "Instead of pressuring Iran in an effective way, Obama and his people are pressuring us not to attack the nuclear facilities," the source quoted Netanyahu as saying.
Angered about continued US rhetoric that diplomacy needs more time to work, Netanyahu said flatly: "Time has run out,"Yediot reported.The American ambassador is said to have responded politely but firmly, telling Netanyahu that he was distorting Obama's position. Obama promised not to allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons, he explained, and left all options on the table, including military options.
At that point, diplomatic sources told the paper, "sparks flew" in an escalating shouting match between Netanyahu and Shapiro as the stunned congressman watched.
Netanyahu and Obama may meet face-to-face on the sidelines of September's United Nations General Assembly meeting.
PM says he wants to tell world about ‘Iranian regime of terror, the greatest threat to world peace’; meeting with US president would reduce chance of strike at Iran before then
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to fly to New York at the end of September to speak at the United Nations General Assembly.
He is likely to meet with US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the GA to discuss with him further action to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Israeli sources said.
According to some analysts, a meeting with Obama at the end of September would mean that it is highly unlikely that Israel would launch a unilateral strike at Iran’s nuclear facility before then.
In a statement Thursday, Netanyahu denounced the Non-Aligned Movement conference, and slammed the international community for its silence in the face of Iran’s “blood libel” against Israel.
“Today, representatives of 120 countries in Tehran heard a blood libel against Israel,” Netanyahu said, referring to a speech earlier Thursday by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement. “This silence has to stop. Therefore I am going to the UN General Assembly, to tell the nations of the world in a loud and clear voice the truth about the Iranian regime of terror, which constitutes the greatest threat to world peace.”
Residents of the city of Sderot reported hearing the “Red Alert” siren twice on Friday morning.
Shortly afterwards, a rocket fired by terrorists from Hamas-controlled Gaza hit a home in the city. One woman suffered from shock and the home sustained minor damage.
A second rocket exploded in an open area of the Shaar HaNegev Regional Council.
On Thursday evening, a rocket launched by terrorists in Gaza exploded in an open area of the Ashkelon Coast Council region.
Home Front Defense Minister Avi Dichter on Friday said that Israel will have to alter its deterrence strategy vis-a-vis Gaza-based terrorism.
Dichter's comments came during a visit to the house in Sderot hit by a rocket fired from Gaza earlier in the day
Israel cannot tolerate rockets being rained down on it, he said, stressing that Israel needs to initiate at a time of its choosing a process of devising a "complete deterrence strategy to stop the terror."According to the IDF Spokesman's Office, some 450 rockets have been fired from Gaza into southern Israel since the beginning of the year.
Vice Premier Moshe Ya'alon said on Friday he feared Iran did not believe it faced a real military threat from the outside world because of mixed messages from foreign powers, including the United States.Ya'alon's statements came a day after Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs Martin Dempsey said that he did not want to be "complicit" if Israel chose to strike Iran's nuclear program, positing that a premature attack would dissolve the international pressure on the Islamic Republic.
Former U.S. Ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, said in an interview published Friday that he does not believe President Barack Obama will order an attack on Iran, now or in the future, and urged Israel to attack Iran's nuclear program on its own.
Speaking to Maariv's Tzach Yoked, Bolton said that "there is no way at this stage to prevent Iran from going nuclear without use of force. It is very unfortunate in my opinion, but I see no possibility that Obama will use military force, and therefore it falls upon Israel."Iran is not in a race for building one or two bombs," Bolton continued. "I think they believe that time is on their side and they will continue with what seems like a well thought-out plan, mostly because they believe that the United States under Obama's leadership will do nothing. And of course, they are afraid of Israel, but I think they trust Obama to pressure Israel not to do anything, and until now this has proved right."
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