WASHINGTON (USA Today) — House Speaker John Boehner on Wednesday invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress without consulting the White House, an apparent challenge to President Obama’s policy on negotiations with Iran.
Netanyahu accepted the offer and will address a joint session on Feb. 11, according to a congressional aide who spoke on background because the Israeli Embassy has not yet made a public announcement.
Boehner, R-Ohio, asked Netanyahu to address the threats posed by Iran’s nuclear ambitions and the rise of the Islamic State. The invite came a day after the president’s State of the Union Address in which Obama warned Congress against enacting new economic sanctions against Iran.
“New sanctions passed by this Congress, at this moment in time, will all but guarantee that diplomacy fails, alienating America from its allies, and ensuring that Iran starts up its nuclear program again,” Obama said Tuesday. “It doesn’t make sense. That is why I will veto any new sanctions bill that threatens to undo this progress.”