Netanyahu to meet Obama at White House in November

Obama often notes he has spoken with Netanyahu more than with any other foreign leader.

By MICHAEL WILNER, JPOST.COM STAFF
Updated: SEPTEMBER 12, 2015 18:22
US President walking into the White House (photo credit: OFFICIAL WHITE HOUSE PHOTO / PETE SOUZA)
US President walking into the White House
(photo credit: OFFICIAL WHITE HOUSE PHOTO / PETE SOUZA)
WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama will host Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House this fall.
The visit will likely occur in early November, White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters on Friday.
Netanyahu's last visit to Washington was not at the president's invitation: When in town to address Congress on the dangers of the pending nuclear deal with Iran on March 3, no administration officials received him.
Nevertheless, Obama often notes he has spoken with Netanyahu more than with any other foreign leader.
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Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry discussed Iran with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a weekend telephone call and reaffirmed the US commitment to Israel's security, the State Department said on Tuesday.
"The secretary and the prime minister reiterated the need to continue pushing back on Iran's destabilizing activities in the region, and he agreed to continue to have these discussions in the coming weeks," State Department spokesman John Kirby said at a news briefing.
"The secretary reaffirmed the United States' commitment to Israel's security and continued military and security relationship," he said.
On Tuesday, President Barack Obama secured 41 votes in the US Senate for the international nuclear deal with Iran, just enough to block a final vote on a measure of disapproval. Netanyahu has been a fierce critic of the agreement.
Kirby said Kerry and Netanyahu discussed a range of issues, including their concerns over media reports of potential Russian military buildup in Syria, Moscow's longtime ally.
In July, world powers adopted a comprehensive agreement with Iran that governs its nuclear program for over a decade.
The deal culminated a two-year diplomatic effort in which the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, led by the United States, had sought to end a twelve-year crisis over Iran's suspicious nuclear work.
Formally known as the the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the 159-page document amounts to the most significant multilateral agreement reached in several decades. Its final form is roundly opposed in Israel— by the government, by its opposition, and by the public at large.
Reuters contributed to this report