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| WASHINGTON — The White House said on Thursday that President Obama would not meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel when he comes here in March to speak to a joint session of Congress and to lobby for new sanctions on Iran that Mr. Obama opposes, the latest twist in a dispute that has marked a new low in relations between the two leaders and which now threatens the chances of a nuclear deal with Tehran. | |
| The White House statement came after Mr. Netanyahu announced that he would speak to Congress in March, not next month as he had originally been invited to do, apparently sensing that he had committed a major diplomatic blunder by not first coordinating his visit with the White House. The House speaker, John A. Boehner, had extended the invitation to highlight Mr. Netanyahu’s support for the Republican effort to enact a new round of sanctions against Iran that Mr. Obama has threatened to veto, and to bolster the critique that the president’s approach to the Middle East has not been forceful enough. | The White House statement came after Mr. Netanyahu announced that he would speak to Congress in March, not next month as he had originally been invited to do, apparently sensing that he had committed a major diplomatic blunder by not first coordinating his visit with the White House. The House speaker, John A. Boehner, had extended the invitation to highlight Mr. Netanyahu’s support for the Republican effort to enact a new round of sanctions against Iran that Mr. Obama has threatened to veto, and to bolster the critique that the president’s approach to the Middle East has not been forceful enough. |
| Mr. Obama “has been clear about his opposition to Congress passing new legislation on Iran that could undermine our negotiations and divide the international community,” Bernadette Meehan, the spokeswoman for the National Security Council, said after the White House announced that the president would not be meeting with Mr. Netanyahu on his visit because of a longstanding policy of not seeing foreign leaders too close to their national elections — a rule that is often ignored when critical issues are on the agenda. | Mr. Obama “has been clear about his opposition to Congress passing new legislation on Iran that could undermine our negotiations and divide the international community,” Bernadette Meehan, the spokeswoman for the National Security Council, said after the White House announced that the president would not be meeting with Mr. Netanyahu on his visit because of a longstanding policy of not seeing foreign leaders too close to their national elections — a rule that is often ignored when critical issues are on the agenda. |
| “The president has had many conversations with the prime minister on this matter,” she said, “and I am sure they will continue to be in contact.” | “The president has had many conversations with the prime minister on this matter,” she said, “and I am sure they will continue to be in contact.” |
| Famously, many of those conversations have been deeply uncomfortable. The two leaders have often clashed on Israel’s determination to build new settlements, which Mr. Obama viewed as a way to sabotage peace talks. Mr. Netanyahu was accused of lecturing Mr. Obama in front of the cameras in the Oval Office during an angry conversation in May 2011, after Mr. Obama suggested that the 1967 borders with Palestine should be the starting point for peace negotiations. Later that year, after former President Nicolas Sarkozy of France complained in front of an open microphone that Mr. Netanyahu was “a liar,” Mr. Obama said, “You’re fed up with him, but I have to deal with him even more often than you.” | Famously, many of those conversations have been deeply uncomfortable. The two leaders have often clashed on Israel’s determination to build new settlements, which Mr. Obama viewed as a way to sabotage peace talks. Mr. Netanyahu was accused of lecturing Mr. Obama in front of the cameras in the Oval Office during an angry conversation in May 2011, after Mr. Obama suggested that the 1967 borders with Palestine should be the starting point for peace negotiations. Later that year, after former President Nicolas Sarkozy of France complained in front of an open microphone that Mr. Netanyahu was “a liar,” Mr. Obama said, “You’re fed up with him, but I have to deal with him even more often than you.” |
| The current dispute over Iran is hardly new, but it has two new elements: the Republican takeover of the Senate, which changes the calculus for passage of new Iran sanctions, and Mr. Boehner’s desire to win powerful allies in a confrontation with Mr. Obama over the president’s No. 1 foreign policy objective for the remainder of his term. | The current dispute over Iran is hardly new, but it has two new elements: the Republican takeover of the Senate, which changes the calculus for passage of new Iran sanctions, and Mr. Boehner’s desire to win powerful allies in a confrontation with Mr. Obama over the president’s No. 1 foreign policy objective for the remainder of his term. |
| “There obviously is not just tension in the relationship but a lot of distrust in the relationship,” said Dennis B. Ross, a former senior adviser to Mr. Obama on the Middle East. “It’s clear that Speaker Boehner wants to make his own point. He’s trying to use the Israeli prime minister to do it.” | “There obviously is not just tension in the relationship but a lot of distrust in the relationship,” said Dennis B. Ross, a former senior adviser to Mr. Obama on the Middle East. “It’s clear that Speaker Boehner wants to make his own point. He’s trying to use the Israeli prime minister to do it.” |
| The battle over the proposed sanctions has heated up in recent days. In testimony on Thursday, the new deputy secretary of state, Antony J. Blinken, opposed the idea of Congress voting on an agreement if one is reached (it would not be a treaty, so no Senate consent is required) and acknowledged that the negotiations may need to be extended again at the end of June. The leading sanctions resolution in Congress would impose sanctions at that time if the current talks are inconclusive. | The battle over the proposed sanctions has heated up in recent days. In testimony on Thursday, the new deputy secretary of state, Antony J. Blinken, opposed the idea of Congress voting on an agreement if one is reached (it would not be a treaty, so no Senate consent is required) and acknowledged that the negotiations may need to be extended again at the end of June. The leading sanctions resolution in Congress would impose sanctions at that time if the current talks are inconclusive. |
| The White House has fumed at what it views as Mr. Netanyahu’s efforts to undercut the negotiations, first by complaining that sanctions would never bring Iran to the table, and then by arguing that the administration risked undercutting sanctions just as they were proving effective. Daniel S. Kurtzer, a professor of Middle East policy at Princeton University, said the decision by Mr. Netanyahu to accept Mr. Boehner’s invitation suggested a willingness to clearly ally with Mr. Obama’s opponents. | The White House has fumed at what it views as Mr. Netanyahu’s efforts to undercut the negotiations, first by complaining that sanctions would never bring Iran to the table, and then by arguing that the administration risked undercutting sanctions just as they were proving effective. Daniel S. Kurtzer, a professor of Middle East policy at Princeton University, said the decision by Mr. Netanyahu to accept Mr. Boehner’s invitation suggested a willingness to clearly ally with Mr. Obama’s opponents. |
| “The Boehner-Netanyahu gambit has taken the relationship at the top to a new low,” Mr. Kurtzer said. “It has put Netanyahu into an anti-Obama camp, a Republican camp. He may think that he gains a political advantage by showing that Congress is on his side.” | “The Boehner-Netanyahu gambit has taken the relationship at the top to a new low,” Mr. Kurtzer said. “It has put Netanyahu into an anti-Obama camp, a Republican camp. He may think that he gains a political advantage by showing that Congress is on his side.” |
| Any final nuclear accord with Iran would require the United States to agree to repeal, over time, the sanctions that Congress has already imposed over the past decade for Iran’s nuclear program. As one senior administration official deeply involved in the talks said recently, “This whole set of discussions bolsters the hard-liners” in Tehran “who don’t believe we will reverse the sanctions no matter what Iran does.” | Any final nuclear accord with Iran would require the United States to agree to repeal, over time, the sanctions that Congress has already imposed over the past decade for Iran’s nuclear program. As one senior administration official deeply involved in the talks said recently, “This whole set of discussions bolsters the hard-liners” in Tehran “who don’t believe we will reverse the sanctions no matter what Iran does.” |
| In the talks with Iran that have been underway in Vienna and Geneva, one of the key points of dispute has been Iran’s insistence that sanctions be lifted rapidly if an agreement is reached. Mr. Obama has resisted, saying he would use his own authority to suspend many of the sanctions in the early years of an accord. But those actions could be reversed by his successor. And ultimately, Iran wants a guarantee that the economic limits that have cut their oil exports by more than half and cut them off from the global financial system will be permanently ended. | In the talks with Iran that have been underway in Vienna and Geneva, one of the key points of dispute has been Iran’s insistence that sanctions be lifted rapidly if an agreement is reached. Mr. Obama has resisted, saying he would use his own authority to suspend many of the sanctions in the early years of an accord. But those actions could be reversed by his successor. And ultimately, Iran wants a guarantee that the economic limits that have cut their oil exports by more than half and cut them off from the global financial system will be permanently ended. |
| The dispute with Israel has emphasized that an accord with Iran will require not one deal but three: one between Western and Iranian negotiators, one between Mr. Obama and Congress and one between Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, and the hard-line clerics and military officials who see the country’s nuclear program as the centerpiece of Iran’s ability to project power. | The dispute with Israel has emphasized that an accord with Iran will require not one deal but three: one between Western and Iranian negotiators, one between Mr. Obama and Congress and one between Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, and the hard-line clerics and military officials who see the country’s nuclear program as the centerpiece of Iran’s ability to project power. |
| Mr. Netanyahu plays a major role in the second of those deals, as the shadow presence in the debate with Congress. But his effort may have also been directed at the Israeli electorate. “Netanyahu is using the Republican Congress for a photo-op for his election campaign and the Republicans are using Bibi for their campaign against Obama,” said Martin Indyk, a former ambassador to Israel, using the prime minister’s nickname. “Unfortunately, the U.S. relationship will take the hit. It would be far wiser for us to stay out of their politics and for them to stay out of ours.” | Mr. Netanyahu plays a major role in the second of those deals, as the shadow presence in the debate with Congress. But his effort may have also been directed at the Israeli electorate. “Netanyahu is using the Republican Congress for a photo-op for his election campaign and the Republicans are using Bibi for their campaign against Obama,” said Martin Indyk, a former ambassador to Israel, using the prime minister’s nickname. “Unfortunately, the U.S. relationship will take the hit. It would be far wiser for us to stay out of their politics and for them to stay out of ours.” |
| Mr. Netanyahu’s speech to Congress will now be in early March, rather than in February as Mr. Boehner had announced on Wednesday. A senior Israeli official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to do otherwise, said the new date was cleared with the White House before it was made public and that it was timed to coincide with the annual meeting of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which Mr. Netanyahu had already planned to attend. | Mr. Netanyahu’s speech to Congress will now be in early March, rather than in February as Mr. Boehner had announced on Wednesday. A senior Israeli official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to do otherwise, said the new date was cleared with the White House before it was made public and that it was timed to coincide with the annual meeting of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which Mr. Netanyahu had already planned to attend. |
| The announcement seemed like an effort to calm the waters. It quoted Mr. Netanyahu as saying how “just last week” he had “discussed with President Obama the common challenges we face from Islamist extremism.” | The announcement seemed like an effort to calm the waters. It quoted Mr. Netanyahu as saying how “just last week” he had “discussed with President Obama the common challenges we face from Islamist extremism.” |
| Israeli news reports were filled Thursday with anonymous American officials fuming about how Mr. Netanyahu had snubbed Mr. Obama with the speech only days after asking for his help. Columnists and commentators said the Israeli premier and the Republican congressional leader were both engaged in meddling. “They are helping Netanyahu defeat his rivals here, and he is helping them humiliate their rivals there,” observed Nahum Barnea in Yediot Aharonot. “That is dangerous. That is toxic.” | Israeli news reports were filled Thursday with anonymous American officials fuming about how Mr. Netanyahu had snubbed Mr. Obama with the speech only days after asking for his help. Columnists and commentators said the Israeli premier and the Republican congressional leader were both engaged in meddling. “They are helping Netanyahu defeat his rivals here, and he is helping them humiliate their rivals there,” observed Nahum Barnea in Yediot Aharonot. “That is dangerous. That is toxic.” |
| Gilad Erdan, a minister who is close to Mr. Netanyahu, tried to tamp down the crisis, telling a radio interviewer that “relations are not bad” between Israel and the United States. | Gilad Erdan, a minister who is close to Mr. Netanyahu, tried to tamp down the crisis, telling a radio interviewer that “relations are not bad” between Israel and the United States. |
| “What there is, is disagreements,” he said. “People and leaders have opinions.” | “What there is, is disagreements,” he said. “People and leaders have opinions.” |