JERUSALEM (AP) – Israel’s opposition leader said Tuesday that the upcoming speech by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the U.S. Congress warning against an emerging nuclear deal with Iran is “spin” aimed at political gain at home ahead of March elections.
Labor Party chief Issac Herzog said “no Israeli leader will ever accept a nuclear Iran” but the way Netanyahu voices his concerns is for “his political interest.”
Herzog is competing against Netanyahu in the March 17 election as part of a center-left coalition called the Zionist Union.
Netanyahu accepted a Republican invitation to address Congress on Iran next week. The speech angered the Obama administration because it was arranged without consulting the White House, a breach of protocol.
The planned speech has drawn fire in Israel as well, coming just two weeks before national elections. Netanyahu has rejected the criticism, saying it is his duty to lobby against the nuclear deal.