President Obama says that although he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disagree about the nuclear deal forged with Iran’s leaders, Israel and the U.S. are maintaining their relationship.
“It’s no secret the Prime Minister and I have had a strong disagreement on this narrow issue, but we don’t have a disagreement on the need to making sure Iran does not get a nuclear weapon and we don’t have a disagreement about us blunting destabilizing activities in Iran that may be taking place,” Obama said to reporters during the meeting in the Oval Office of the White House.
Netanyahu highlighted increasingly aggressive acts of terror in the Middle East, calling it a key test for the two nations.
“I think everybody can see it. With the savagery of ISIS, with the aggression in terror by Iran’s proxies and by Iran itself and the combination of turbulence is now displaced millions of people, as butchered, hundreds of thousands, and we don’t know what will transpire,” Netanyahu said. “And we don’t know what will transpire.”
He thanked Obama for continuing to signal commitment to Iran’s security, but reminded him that Israel would continue to defend itself.
“I don’t think anyone should doubt Israel’s determination to defend itself against terror and destruction, but neither should anyone doubt Israel’s willingness to make peace with any of its neighbors that genuinely want to achieve peace with us,” he said.