(Photo : Reuters/Kevin Lamarque) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and U.S. President Barack Obama (R) met at the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on October 1, 2014.


U.S. President Barack Obama has called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop pushing the U.S. Congress and Senate to impose new sanctions on Iran amid reports that Netanyahu was invited to speak before the Congress on March.



Obama reportedly gave the message to Netanyahu personally via phone on Monday, according to a senior American official who asked to be credited anonymously. Obama said that he is already seeking a deal with Iran to prevent it from obtaining nuclear weapons and to assure the international community that the nuclear program is for nonviolent purposes only, the source said.



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Obama also explained that the new sanctionw would only sabotage his negotiations with Iran, the official added. U.S. is not the only country that is working on the deal as there are five more countries attempting to broker a deal with Iran.



The U.S. president also told Netanyahu he would use his veto power should a legislation against Iran be passed by Congress.



Netanyahu should no longer meddle with the battle that he has been having against the Congress, Obama reportedly warned the Israeli leader. The warning was issued a week before Speaker of House John Boehner publicly announced the invitation to address a joint session before the Congress.



The Israeli Prime Minister's address is expected to focus on the nuclear issue of Iran. He will also possibly pressure the Congress to pass the new sanctions as soon as possible.



This is not the first time that Netanyahu has urged parties to push sanctions in Iran as he already talked to the American legislators such as Republican Senator John McCain about the issue. The White House has been aware of Netanyahu's actions.



Republicans have been outspoken about their support for Netanyahu on the Iranian issue and they made it clear the legistlation for the new sanctions legislation will be up for voting soon.



Netanyahu was invited to speak on February 11 but the event was moved to March 3, just two weeks before elections in Israel start.



Due to this, the Obama administration has voiced its anger on the invitation and noted that Boehner has violated some protocols. However, the administration stressed that it will only pass its judgment on the issue after the president obtains all the details on Netanyahu's speech.




TagsBarack Obama, U.S. Congress, Benjamin Netanyahu, Iran sanctions