Best views, weather, etc. How to test them 👓 SC, Ala. sites look back Betty Ford honored
WASHINGTON
State of the Union Address

Netanyahu: Stop Iran's 'march of conquest'

Gregory Korte
USA TODAY
Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister of Israel, addresses a joint meeting of Congress on March 3, 2015.

WASHINGTON — The nuclear deal now being negotiated between Iran, the United States and its allies "doesn't block Iran's path to the bomb," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Congress Tuesday. "It paves Iran's path to the bomb."

Netanyahu's highly anticipated address to Congress at once tried to smooth over partisan tensions and rally Congress to take a harder line against Iran. The Israeli prime minister urged the United States to keep economic sanctions in place, insist on further nuclear restrictions and make any deal permanent.

"Iran and ISIS are competing for the crown of militant Islam," he warned, referring to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. "The difference is that ISIS is armed with butcher knives, captured weapons and YouTube, whereas Iran could soon be armed with intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear bombs."

But President Obama countered that Netanyahu did not offer a viable alternative to negotiations in his speech to Congress. "As far as I can tell, there was nothing new," in the speech, Obama said.

"The alternative that the prime minister offers is no deal, in which case Iran will immediately begin once again pursuing its nuclear program, accelerate its nuclear program, without us having any insight into what they're doing. And without constraint."

Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide

Those stark differences over strategy in dealing with Iran's nuclear ambitions came even as both the Israeli leader and the White House tried to downplay any personal or political differences. Netanyahu said the relationship between the United States and Israel "has always been above politics, and must always remain above politics."

"I know that my speech has been the subject of much controversy. I deeply regret that some perceive my being here as political. That has never been my intention," Netanyahu said at the beginning of his 40-minute address to a packed House chamber. "I know that no matter which side of the aisle you sit, you stand with Israel."

Netanyahu then laid out a multi-count indictment against the Iranian regime, saying Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei spews "the oldest hatred of anti-Semitism with the newest technology. He tweets that Israel must be annihilated. He tweets!" Netanyahu said, his voice cracking and pausing to take a drink of water.

He accused Iran of playing a game of "hide and cheat" with nuclear inspectors, saying it's been caught twice operating secret nuclear facilities. "Right now, Iran could be hiding nuclear facilities that we don't know about," he said. "Iran has proven time and again that it cannot be trusted."

The United States and five other world powers are negotiating a deal with Iran that would seek to put at least a decade-long halt to its nuclear program.

That's not long enough for Netanyahu, who called equated 10 years to "the blink of an eye" in terms of the history of Israel.

National Security Adviser Susan Rice said Monday that a permanent halt to Iran's nuclear capability was unrealistic because negotiating partners on the United Nations Security Council don't support that.

"If that is our goal, our partners will abandon us, undermining the sanctions we have imposed so effectively together. Simply put, that is not a viable negotiating position," Rice told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobbying group.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a packed House chamber on Capitol Hill on March 3, 2015.

Netanyahu urged the United States to enact tougher sanctions in order to force a harder line against Iran, and such legislation is already being debated in the Senate. But Obama has threatened to veto any such legislation, saying it could derail the talks.

On the eve of Netanyahu's speech, the Obama administration sought to allay fears that the Iran negotiations would result in a bad deal for Israel or the United States. The goal, Obama told the Reuters news agency in an interview Monday, would be to ensure "there's at least a year between us seeing them try to get a nuclear weapon and them actually being able to obtain one."

Netanyahu said that "breakout time" would be even shorter in Israel's assessment — and that by the time violations are discovered it may be too late. "Inspectors document violations. They don't stop them," he said.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Senate President Pro Tem Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, talk before the start of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to a joint meeting of Congress on March 3, 2015.

Obama did not watch the speech live, but instead participated in a teleconference with European leaders over the Ukraine crisis. He later said he had read a transcript of the speech.

"What I'm focused on right now is solving this problem. I'm not focused on the politics of it. I'm not focused on the theater of it," Obama told reporters in the Oval Office.

In his interview with Reuters Monday, Obama said he and Netanyahu shared the same goal, he also said there's "substantial disagreement" about how to get there. "I'm less concerned, frankly, with Prime Minster Netanyahu's commentary than I'm with Congress taking actions that might undermine the talks before they're completed," Obama said.

Heeding generalized warnings from Secretary of State John Kerry in recent days, Netanyahu was careful not to divulge classified information about the state of the nuclear talks. "You don't need intelligence agencies and secret information to know this," Netanyahu said. "You can Google it."

House Speaker John Boehner bypassed the White House in inviting Netanyahu just two weeks before his party faces an election in Israel, and as many as 60 Democrats boycotted the speech as a "campaign pep rally" for Netanyahu.

Democrats who walked out expressed differing degrees of support for the speech.

"There is no agreement this administration could reach with Iran that would be good enough for him," said Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas.

But Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., said Netanyahu made a "convincing case for continued U.S. support."

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who did attend the speech, called it insulting and condescending and said she was nearly brought to tears as someone who "loves Israel."

But she also said "a nuclear armed Iran is unacceptable to both our countries. We have all said that a bad deal is worse than no deal, and stopping the spread of nuclear weapons is the bedrock of our foreign policy and national security."

Boehner had no trouble filling the Democrats' empty seats, and the packed chamber gave Netanyahu 22 standing ovations.

The speaker's office says it has had 10 times more interest for tickets to the public galleries than any other event in his four-year speakership — including State of the Union addresses. Among the visiting dignitaries: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Sens. Norm Coleman and Joe Lieberman, and Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor.

Netanyahu recognized Wiesel in the gallery, prompting one of the longest ovations of the speech. "Elie, your life and work inspires to give meaning to the words, 'Never again!'" the prime minister said. "I wish I could tell you, Elie, that the lessons of history have been learned."

The speech was attended by all the customary pomp and circumstance, with Boehner appointing a special "escort committee" to parade Netanyahu to the dais and host him at a reception afterward.

With his speech to Congress Tuesday, Netanyahu joins Winston Churchill as the only foreign leaders who have addressed Congress three times. Boehner presented Netanyahu with a bust of Churchill for the occasion.

Israel now joins the United Kingdom and France as the only countries that have been invited to address a joint meeting eight times.

David Jackson and Susan Davis contributed. Follow @gregorykorte on Twitter.

Featured Weekly Ad