Obama will not meet with Israeli PM Netanyahu

US-Israel relationship strained over conflicting stances on Iran

Published September 11, 2012 8:55PM (EDT)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called Iran "the greatest threat to world peace," and has become increasingly vocal about the nation's uranium enrichment program. He recently asked the U.S. to take a hard stance against Iran, but on Monday Secretary of State Hillary Clinton maintained that the U.S. "would not set a deadline in further talks with Iran, saying there was still time for diplomacy to work."

In a news conference on Tuesday, Netanyahu became more aggressive, saying, "Those in the international community who refuse to put red lines before Iran don't have a moral right to place a red light before Israel."

Now, the White House is telling Reuters that the president will not meet with Netanyahu when he visits the U.S. later this month:

An Israeli official told Reuters on condition of anonymity that Netanyahu's aides had asked for a meeting when he visits the United Nations this month, and "the White House has got back to us and said it appears a meeting is not possible. It said that the president's schedule will not permit that."

Netanyahu has met with Obama on all the Israeli leader's U.S. trips since 2009.

 

 

 

 


By Prachi Gupta

Prachi Gupta is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on pop culture. Follow her on Twitter at @prachigu or email her at pgupta@salon.com.

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