Netanyahu takes fight against Obama's Iran plan to Congress

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu goes to Capitol Hill on March 3 for another round in an increasingly heated battle with the White House over Iran's nuclear ambitions.
      
In a landmark speech to Congress, Netanyahu will seek to mobilise lawmakers to oppose an emerging deal with Tehran which is backed by President Barack Obama.        

Obama on Monday lashed out at his nemesis, pointing to Netanyahu's attacks on a previous interim US-Iran deal that paved the way for this week's ongoing talks in Switzerland.
      
"Netanyahu made all sorts of claims," he told Reuters.
      
"This was going to be a terrible deal," he went on. "This was going to result in Iran getting $50 billion worth of relief. Iran would not abide by the agreement. None of that has come true."       

Netanyahu aides say that in his address he will present information proving that the shape of the deal being discussed in Switzerland this week presents grave danger.
      
State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf warned Monday that if the details came from US briefings to Israel, revealing them could mean there would be no more.
      
"We've continuously provided detailed classified briefings to Israeli officials to keep them updated and to provide context," she said.
      
"Any release of any kind of information like that would, of course, betray that trust."       

"We want to keep talking in these settings, of course, but that would be a problem."       

Netanyahu believes that in the talks with Iran the so-called P5+1 group is verging on striking a deal that will ease international sanctions without the ironclad safeguards the Jewish state says are essential to deny Tehran a nuclear bomb.