Faced with growing Israeli anger toward the administration in general and him in particular, Secretary of State John Kerry’s speeches today focused on claiming unquestioned US backing for Israel on all things, but especially Iran.

“We stand with Israel firmly – 100 percent,” Kerry insisted, a claim that seems at odds with the two being on opposite sides of lobbying efforts in the US Congress, and the Obama Administration’s criticism of massive settlement expansions.

The focus is clearly on Iran, however, where Kerry conceded that “disagreements” exist, but claimed that the US and Israel have identical goals and share a common endgame.

That claim flies in the face of everything the two nations have said over the past few weeks, with the Obama Administration on board for diplomatic efforts and apparently prepared to sign a settlement with Iran on the issue of “limiting” the size of their civilian nuclear program. Israel, by contrast, opposes any deal with Iran and insists that Iran has to be forced to scrapped the entirety of its program or face war as an alternative.

Though this split has become more and more dramatic in recent weeks, there have been hints of a split in general tone for months, with Israel long complaining that President Obama hasn’t threatened to attack Iran nearly often enough, and repeatedly pressing the US to set a specific date for starting a war.