{"id":96289,"date":"2015-03-04T07:02:07","date_gmt":"2015-03-04T07:02:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=96289"},"modified":"2015-03-04T07:02:07","modified_gmt":"2015-03-04T07:02:07","slug":"obama-dismisses-netanyahu-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2015\/03\/obama-dismisses-netanyahu-speech\/","title":{"rendered":"Obama dismisses Netanyahu speech"},"content":{"rendered":"
US President Barack Obama has reacted scathingly to a speech by the Israeli prime minister that castigated his policy towards Iran.<\/p>\n
In a speech to the US Congress, Benjamin Netanyahu warned that a deal under discussion on Iran’s nuclear programme could “pave Iran’s path to the bomb” rather than block it.<\/p>\n
But Mr Obama said Mr Netanyahu had offered no viable alternative.<\/p>\n
Other senior Democrats – and Iran – also criticised Mr Netanyahu.<\/p>\n
The Israeli leader’s visit was controversial from the start, because the Republican speaker invited him without consulting the White House.<\/p>\n
The US president announced he would not meet Mr Netanyahu, who is fighting in a closely contested national election in just two weeks’ time.<\/p>\n
Talks on Iran’s nuclear programme are nearing a critical late-March deadline for an outline agreement to be reached.<\/p>\n
‘Hide and cheat’<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n In a speech to the US Congress regularly punctuated by standing ovations Mr Netanyahu depicted Iran as a “threat to the entire world”.<\/p>\n