Netanyahu’s refusal to support potential Iran accord troubling

Now what?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel came to Washington this week, made it clear that he is unequivocally opposed to the emerging agreement on Iran’s nuclear program and left with this ominous warning:

“The days of the Jewish people remaining passive in the face of genocidal enemies, those days are gone. Even if Israel has to stand alone, Israel will stand.”

The prime minister, obviously buoyed by the rousing reception he received on Capitol Hill when he addressed a joint meeting of Congress, then brought forth this exclamation point:

“I know that Israel does not stand alone, I know America stands with Israel.”

And thus the question: Now what?

The administration of President Barack Obama, who was sidelined when House Speaker John Boehner invited Netanyahu to address members of the House and Senate, is of the firm belief that negotiations are the only realistic way of getting Iran to give up on the idea of developing nuclear weapons.

Representatives of the U.S. and five other countries have been meeting with Iranian officials to develop a framework agreement.

On Tuesday, just before the Israeli leader spoke on Capitol Hill, Secretary of State John Kerry met in Switzerland for more than two hours with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

But while President Obama is adamant that he won’t allow the Republican-controlled Congress to undermine the negotiations, Netanyahu’s refusal to accept any treaty that does not embrace the parameters established by him and outlined on Tuesday does not bode well for a peaceful resolution.

“The greatest danger facing our world is the marriage of militant Islam with nuclear weapons,” said the prime minister, who is in a tough battle for re-election on March 17.

He contended that with the concessions the Obama administration was prepared to make, Iran would not only gain nuclear weapons but also eventually would become free of international economic sanctions. As a result, he said, Iran would be emboldened to finance even more terrorism around the Middle East and the world.

“We’ve been told that no deal is better than a bad deal,” Netanyahu said. “Well this is a bad deal , a very bad deal.”

President Obama wasted little time in disagreeing with the prime minister’s assessment of the negotiations and noted that the goal is to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

No viable alternatives

Obama also pointed out that the Israeli leader did not offer any viable alternatives to the terms of the agreement being negotiated.

Republicans on Capitol Hill have talked about enacting legislation to increase economic sanctions against Iran, but the president has said he would veto any such measure.

In an editorial in January dealing with the breach of protocol inherent in Boehner’s reaching out to the prime minister without consulting with the White House, we warned that failure by the U.S. and its international partners to reach an agreement with Iran on curbing its nuclear ambitions would prompt the ayatollahs in Tehran to step up the country’s nuclear program.

We added this: “And that could trigger a pre-emptive strike by Israel.”

In light of Netanyahu’s ominous warning, there certainly is cause for concern.