Netanyahu seeks to placate Obama

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted his address to the US Congress will not disrespect president Barack Obama, even as he assailed the US leader’s bid for a nuclear deal with Iran as a threat to his country’s survival.

“I have a moral obligation to speak up in the face of these dangers while there is still time to avert them,” Netanyahu said during an address to a pro-Israel lobbying group in Washington.

As Netanyahu spoke, secretary of state John Kerry was opening a new round of talks with Iran in Geneva aimed at reaching a framework nuclear deal ahead of a late March deadline. Netanyahu’s visit to Washington has exposed deep tensions with the White House.