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Sorry, Mr. Prime Minister, but I’m busy that day.

That appeared to be Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s response on Friday to Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli premier, whose plans for a speech to a joint meeting of Congress next month have surprised and angered the White House, which was not consulted in advance.

Mr. Biden, who as president of the Senate would normally attend such a speech, is expected to be traveling overseas when Mr. Netanyahu visits, his office announced.

It was the latest sign of strain between the Israeli prime minister and the White House since Mr. Netanyahu quietly accepted an invitation from Speaker John A. Boehner, Republican of Ohio, to address Congress about Iran, without informing President Obama’s team that he would be doing so.

The White House called it a breach of protocol and announced that the president would not meet with Mr. Netanyahu during the visit, to avoid creating the appearance of unduly influencing Israeli elections, which will occur just two weeks later.

But beyond protocol and appearance, the visit is intensifying a rift between Mr. Obama, who has been pressing for a diplomatic agreement to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, and Mr. Netanyahu, who — backed by many congressional Republicans — believes Tehran can never be trusted to strike or abide by such a deal.

When congressional Democrats began discussing a boycott of the speech this week, questions arose about whether Mr. Biden would attend. His office put those to rest even as officials declined to say what specifically would keep him away.

“We are not ready to announce details of his trip yet, and normally our office wouldn’t announce this early,” one official said, “but the planning process has been underway for a while.”