MSNBC’s Mohyeldin: Obama and Netanyahu Have ‘Personal Animus’ Given US Wanting to Break Tradition With Iran Deal

On Tuesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” MSNBC anchor and NBC Foreign Correspondent Ayman Mohyeldin said that “there’s a personal animus” between Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and President Obama “given the fact that the United States wanted to break a long-standing tradition with the Iran nuclear deal.” Although, he added that Israel was personalizing a “long-standing” US position of encouraging Israel to stop building settlements, and had Obama blocked the UN resolution on Israeli settlements, he would have been the only president in 50 years to not allow a single UN Security Council resolution critical of Israel to pass.

Mohyeldin said, “You can make the argument that intelligence sharing between the United States and Israel is at an all-time high. You can make the argument that the United States has sold Israel one of the largest military deals, about $38 billion worth, under the terms of President Obama, or when he was in office. You can make the argument that people-to-people relationship and all the cultural exchange has been as strong as it has ever been between the two countries. But there’s no doubt, as you’re absolutely right, that there’s a personal animus between these two world leaders, given the fact that the United States wanted to break a long-standing tradition with the Iran nuclear deal. That is something that has angered the Israeli prime minister and the Israeli leadership.”

He added, “[T]he argument that Israel is making, that this is a departure from the past, seems, by some analysis, not to be accurate, because it’s been a long-standing position of American administrations, both Republicans and Democrats, that they have encouraged Israel to stop building settlements in the occupied territories. … And that’s what makes this particular position that Israel is taking somewhat unique, that they are personalizing it with President Obama, who, you know, funny enough, for the eight years that he has been in office, has vetoed every UN Security Council resolution that has come his way. That would have made him the only US president within 50 years to not allow a single UN Security Council resolution to be critical of Israel to pass.”

(h/t Grabien)

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