Brewing Israel-U.S. crisis || Kerry: No deal on Iran yet, Netanyahu's opposition premature

Speaking in Abu Dhabi, U.S. Secretary of State says time to oppose a deal is 'when you see what it is'; Peres downplays reports of Israeli-U.S. divisions on Iran.

By The Associated Press

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says said Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "needs to recognize that no agreement" with Iran has been reached and his opposition is premature. "The time to oppose [a deal] is when you see what it is," Kerry said to reported in Abu Dhabi.

In a tense meeting with Kerry ahead of his departure to Geneva last week, Netanyahu said that Israel does not see itself committed to any deal reached between the P5+1 and Iran in their negotiations.

Kerry called off making a statement before the meeting in an attempt to avoid a public confrontation. But Netanyahu decided to go ahead with a statement on his own, in which he slammed a possible agreement between Iran and the six world powers.

Iran got "the deal of the century and the international community got a bad deal," Netanyahu told reporters. "Israel utterly rejects it and many in the region share my opinion, whether or not they express that publicly. Israel is not obliged by this agreement and Israel will do everything it needs to do to defend itself and the security of its people."

In an address to the annual General Assembly of Jewish Federations of North America on Sunday in Jerusalem, Netanyahu made a direct appeal for Jews worldwide to join him in speaking out against the deal. It is a "bad and dangerous deal" that threatens Israel’s survival and “on matters of Jewish survival, I will not be silenced,” Netanyahu said.

Kerry also said that the major powers were unified on Saturday when the proposal was presented to the Iranians. He said "The French signed off on it, we signed off on it." But he said that Iran wasn't able to accept the deal "at the particular moment."

Speaking at General Assembly Monday, Israeli President Shimon Peres and United States Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro expressed confidence in the U.S.’s determination to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

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