Kerry Critical of Netanyahu’s Judgment on Iran Talks
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Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Secretary of State John Kerry Wednesday delivered a sharp criticism of an important U.S. ally even as he refused to directly comment about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming speech to Congress on March 3.
Kerry, who was testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said that Netanyahu’s judgment about ongoing talks to limit Iran’s nuclear capabilities “may not be correct here.”
Netanyahu is expected to deliver a stinging rebuke of the negotiations with Tehran during his address to lawmakers. House Speaker John Boehner invited the Israeli leader to speak without first consulting the White House, which administration officials are privately furious about.
GOP lawmakers and some Democrats have sided with Netanyahu, insisting that Iran can’t be trusted to stop their alleged effort to build nuclear weapons, which would threaten Israel’s survival. They charge that Tehran is dragging out talks deliberately and has no intention of ever giving up its nuclear program.
California Republican Congressman Ed Royce, the committee’s chairman, brought up these concerns to Kerry, who agreed that Iran should not keep stonewalling United Nations inspectors about previous work in trying to construct an atomic bomb.
The U.S. and the rest of the P5+1 have set a March 31 deadline to come up with an agreement that would put sharp restrictions of Iran’s nuclear program for a decade in exchange for the lifting of some sanctions that have crippled its economy.
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