During his press conference in Panama Saturday, President Obama slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a the same false charge he has made often since the Iran deal framework was announced on April 2nd:
"The Prime Minister of Israel is deeply opposed to it," Obama said about the deal. "I think he’s made that very clear. I have repeatedly asked - what is the alternative that you present that you think makes it less likely for Iran to get a nuclear weapon? And I have yet to obtain a good answer on that that."
Actually the Israeli Prime Minister has offered his alternatives to the proposed deal in many different ways since the framework was announced. For example last Friday Netanyahu published the following chart on his official Facebook page:
President Obama chooses to ignore the Israeli leader to claim he has not offered an alternative so the day after the President's made his latest charge the Premier took to Israeli TV to answer them again:
"So let me reiterate again the two main components of the alternative to this bad deal: First, instead of allowing Iran to preserve and develop its nuclear capabilities, a better deal would significantly roll back these capabilities – for example, by shutting down the illicit underground facilities that Iran concealed for years from the international community. Second, instead of lifting the restrictions on Iran’s nuclear facilities and program at a fixed date, a better deal would link the lifting of these restrictions to an end of Iran’s aggression in the region, its worldwide terrorism and its threats to annihilate Israel.
Iran needs a deal more than anyone. Instead of making dangerous concessions to Iran, now is the time for the international community to reassert and fortify its original demands for a better deal."
Note: A video of Netanyahu's full-two minute statement is embedded below.
In an interesting related story, Netanyahu's major opposition who received support and advice from some of President Obama's campaign people during the recent Israeli election announced their Iran plan, which was more "hawkish" than the Prime Minister's alternative:
In a position paper released Sunday, the Zionist Union's leaders demand the United States to "give legitimization ahead of time to any action Israel will need to take to protect its safety".
(…)The crux of Herzog and Livni's plan is a call on the American administration to commit in advance to approve an Israeli military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities if Iran violates the framework agreement signed a week and a half ago by trying to produce nuclear weapons.