Netanyahu's 'interference' in US affairs is 'unprecedented' for a foreign leader: Obama

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's "interference" in US affairs is without precedent among foreign leaders, US President Barack Obama told CNN in an interview published early on Sunday.
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Interviewer Fareed Zakaria put to Obama the question whether it was “appropriate of a foreign head of government to inject himself into an American affair” to the extent Netanyahu has done in his public opposition to the nuclear deal with Iran, and whether Obama can recall another instance of such conduct by a foreign head of state.
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After suggesting Zakaria pose the question to Netanyahu, Obama remarked that he "doesn't recall a similar example."
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In last week's emphatic speech defending the agreement between Iran and world powers, Obama singled out Israel as the sole opponent of the deal, but said it would also benefit from an Iran blocked from gaining nuclear weapons.
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"Every nation in the world that has commented publicly -- with the exception of the Israeli government -- has expressed support," he said.
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Congress is expected to vote on the issue within weeks. The White House has mounted an intense lobbying campaign to convince reluctant members of the Republican-controlled Congress to back the deal.
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Obama warned lawmakers that rejecting diplomacy would lead to war and destroy US credibility, just as Netanyahu did a webcast for more than 10,000 Jewish Americans in which he said that “this is the time to oppose this dangerous deal.”
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AIPAC, the US pro-Israel lobby, has urged the Congress to reject the Iran nuclear deal, saying it fails to deliver on pledges to block off Iran's path toward developing atomic munitions.
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Since Netanyahu and Obama came to power in 2009 they have had a testy relationship, clashing over Israeli settlement building and the Middle East peace process.
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It has reached a nadir earlier this year when Netanyahu made a speech speech to the US Congress at the invitation to Netanyahu from Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner.
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The announcement of the speech sparked outrage, as the invitation was not cleared by the White House, and apparently had been deliberately kept from the Obama administration.
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