Washington : US Secretary of State John Kerry has said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was wrong in opposing the ongoing nuclear talks between Iran and the world powers.
Netanyahu Wednesday intensified his criticism of the US-led nuclear talks with Iran, accusing the world powers of “giving up on their commitment” to stop Tehran from getting nuclear weapons, Xinhua reported.
“The six powers — US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany — have accepted the fact that Iran, gradually over several years, will develop the capabilities to make fissile material for several nuclear bombs,” said Netanyahu.
“Maybe they can live with it, but I can’t,” he added.
“We won’t take a backseat to anybody in our commitment to the state of Israel,but he may have a judgment that just may not be correct here,” Kerry said Wednesday.
Kerry added that Netanyahu “was wrong” in opposing the interim agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme.
The rebuke from Kerry came ahead of Netanyahu’s speech to the US Congress next week at the invitation of Republican House Speaker John Boehner.
Netanyahu is expected to reiterate his objections to the negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme.
The White House has said President Barack Obama would not meet Netanyahu when he is in Washington.
Boehner’s decision to invite Netanyahu without consulting the White House, and Netanyahu’s decision to accept, has injected “a degree of partisanship” into the relationship between the two nations, Obama’s National Security Advisor Susan Rice said.