Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is heading to Congress to try to do anything possible to sabotage the ongoing US-Iran nuclear negotiations. The White House is responding by insisting a deal was probably never going to happen in the first place.

Obama today declared Iran would “more likely than not” refuse to sign the agreement that has reportedly been very close to finalizing. Why Iran is negotiating along those terms if they don’t intend to accept them is totally unclear.

Downplaying the seriousness of the talks has been an ongoing strategy to keep Israel on the sidelines while negotiations continue, as Netanyahu has made very clear time and again he opposes any deal.

With Netanyahu already in DC, it’s probably too late to try to convince him that the talks aren’t worth worrying about. The White House also claimed they could theoretically impose new sanctions on Iran even after they reach a deal with Iran, the terms of which would be to not impose new sanctions. This is just a bizarre claim, suggesting the Obama Administration might not be taking the diplomacy particularly seriously.