Secretary of State John Kerry, possibly concerned along with the Obama Administration that the nuclear deal they are making with Iran has some details they would rather keep secret, gave an implied warning to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who will speak to Congress on Tuesday, that he better not spill any details of the deal in his speech.
Kerry is in Geneva, where he is scheduled to make a deal with Iran regarding its nuclear program. He intoned that he was “concerned by reports” that “selective details” of the planned U.S./Iran deal would be divulged.
Kerry’s words came after an Israeli official traveling with Netanyahu from Israel to Washington, D.C. told reporters that Israel has more information about the deal than much of Congress, according to the Times of Israel. The official stated that Netanyahu would speak about some of the details of the agreement when he speaks before Congress:
We know many details from the agreement being put together, details that we feel members of Congress are unaware of. According to the information we have, the deal currently taking shape will leave Iran with the capability to build a nuclear weapon, if Khamenei will make a decision to do so.
An advisor to the prime minister said, “We are not here to offend President Obama, who we respect very much. The prime minister is here to warn, in front of any stage possible, the dangers” of the prospective deal.
At the end of January, the White House and State Department rushed to deny rumors that the deal with Iran would allow the terrorist-supporting nation to increase its enrichment activities after a period of ten years had elapsed. The P5+1 countries attempting to deal with Iran have a deadline of March 31 for any prospective deal, which would ostensibly be finalized on June 30.
Kerry, continuing the Obama Administration’s public stance that their diplomacy is working, claimed, “The best way to deal with the question surrounding this nuclear program is to find a comprehensive deal, but not a deal which comes at any costs. We have made some progress, but we still have a long way to go, and the clock is ticking.”
Ron Dermer, Israel’s Ambassador to the United States, told The Atlantic in late January:
Let me be clear that the prime minister’s visit to Washington is intended for one purpose-to speak about Iran, that openly threatens the survival of the Jewish state. The survival of Israel is not a partisan issue. It is an issue for all Americans because those who seek Israel’s destruction also threaten America. America and Israel have to face this threat together. The prime minister is looking forward to the opportunity to speak to the American Congress and through them to the American people about what he believes is the greatest challenge of our time—preventing a nuclear-armed Iran.