Obama admits 'very real differences' with Netanyahu on Iran

US President Barack Obama on Monday acknowledged what he called "very real differences" between his approach to Iran and that of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is scheduled to deliver a speech to Congress on March 3.
Standing alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel for a joint press conference at the White House, Obama said the P5+1 nations - and the international community at large - have made progress on Iran's nuclear program, due to pressure exerted on its economy by sanctions, and what he indicated was an effective diplomatic approach.
"It does not make sense to sour the negotiations a month or two before they are completed," he said of Netanyahu's bid to thwart efforts toward a nuclear deal with Iran.
"This is not a circumstance in which by talking they've been stalling and meanwhile advancing their program," Obama explained. "To the contrary, what we know is the program has not only been frozen, but with respect to, for example, 20 percent enriched uranium, they've reversed it, and so we're in a better position than we were before the interim program was set up." Obama further stressed that the P5+1 "now know enough that the issues are no longer technical," and said the real question is whether Iran has "the political will" to give assurances that would result in a final agreement.
"If, in fact, we can get a deal, then we should embrace that," Obama told reporters. "If we can't get a deal, then we'll have to make a set of decisions and, as I've said to Congress, I'll be the first one to work with them to apply even stronger measures against Iran.
"As the president of the United States, I'm looking at what the options are if we don't get a diplomatic resolution - and those options are narrow, and they're not attractive." The president noted that he talks to Netanyahu "all the time," but reaffirmed his position on not meeting the Israeli leader during his visit to Washington next month.
"We have a practice of not meeting with leaders right before their elections, two weeks before their elections," Obama said.
"As much as I love Angela (Merkel), if she was two weeks away from an election, she probably would not have received an invitation to the White House, and I suspect she wouldn't have asked for one," he said of the German leader, in what may be seen as a jab at Netanyahu for planning a visit to Washington at all.
However Obama insisted that differences on Iran are a "separate" issue from avoiding a meeting with Netanyahu.