Obama angry with Netanyahu for accepting Congress invitation: Report

The White House said Obama would not meet with Netanyahu in March.

US President Barack Obama is angry with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for accepting an invitation by Congress without consultation with the White House, an American official says.

The New York Times reported on Wednesday that a senior Obama administration official sharply criticized Israel’s ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer for helping arrange the invitation.

House Speaker John Boehner invited Netanyahu to speak about Iran before a joint congressional session on March 3.

The invitation came after President Obama threatened to veto new Iran sanctions legislation during his State of the Union address.

The unnamed official told the Times that Dermer had repeatedly placed “Netanyahu’s political fortunes above the relationship between Israel and the United States.”

Without the White House’s knowledge, the Israeli ambassador worked with Boehner to arrange the speech.

In response to the criticism, Dermer said that he had “no regrets whatsoever” and that he had acted for Tel Aviv’s interests.

“My understanding was that it was the speaker’s prerogative to do, and that he would be the one to inform the administration,” he told the Times in a phone interview late Wednesday.

The White House has called Netanyahu’s invitation a breach of diplomatic protocol.

It also said that the US president would not meet with the Israeli leader when he visits.

Netanyahu has been trying to persuade Congress to impose further sanctions against Iran over the country’s nuclear energy program while Tehran and six world powers are negotiating to reach a final comprehensive nuclear agreement.

President Obama has warned Netanyahu to stop encouraging US congressmen to pass new sanctions legislation against Iran.

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