In one of the most highly anticipated speeches to Congress by a foreign leader in recent years, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday torched the Obama administration's ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran.
"It doesn't block Iran's path to the bomb," Netanyahu said. "It paves Iran's path to the bomb."
Referencing the Book of Esther and Nazi Germany, Netanyahu warned that Iran was committed to destroying Israel and that the developing deal would "all but guarantee" Tehran acquires nuclear weapons. And though he did not offer specifics on an alternative plan to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions, Netanyahu said no deal should come until Iran stops sponsoring global terror, stops meddling with its neighbors, and stops threatening to annihilate Israel.
"This deal won't be a freewill to arms," Netanyahu said, "but a farewell to arms control."
Many Democratic lawmakers skipped the controversial speech, which the Obama administration warned could scuttle the nuclear negotiations and prove "destructive" to America's relationship with Israel.