Tensions between the Israeli and United States governments
reached fever pitch over the issue of Iran’s nuclear program in a recent
high-level meeting between the prime minister and the American ambassador,
Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Friday.
Last week Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a
closed-door meeting with visiting Congressman and House Intelligence
Committee Chairman Mike Rogers and American Ambassador to Israel Dan
Shapiro. Netanyahu opened the discussion by lambasting the Obama
administration for what he considered its ineffectual policy vis à vis Iran.
Netanyahu then expressed his belief that the US should be
pressuring Iran to stop its nuclear program rather than pressuring Israel not
to attack.
“Instead of effectively pressuring Iran, Obama and his
people are pressuring us not to attack the nuclear facilities,” he reportedly
said. He concluded by saying that the time for diplomacy had run out, the
Yedioth report said.
At one point during the meeting, Shapiro grew enraged by
Netanyahu’s remarks, broke diplomatic protocol, and snapped at the PM, saying
he was misrepresenting Obama’s position on Iran.
According to a source at the meeting, “sparks and lightning
were flying.”
The US embassy did not comment on the Yedioth Ahronoth
report.
Source: Times of Israel; editor, David Horovitz.
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