Obama Disagrees With Netanyahu's Call for Iran to Recognize Israel

This past Monday during an interview with NPR, Obama called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s call to force Iran to acknowledge Israel’s right to exist, as part of any agreement on the country’s nuclear program, a fundamental misjudgment. Obama then reasons that his objection of Israel’s call to be recognized, within agreements, is simply to stop Iran from going nuclear in the first place. He said “I want to return to this point: we want Iran not to have nuclear weapons precisely because we can’t bank on the nature of the regime changing.” 

International relations between Iran and Israel regarding Israel’s legitimacy as a state remains the same as always, complicated and non-reassuring. Israel made statements Friday, boldly stating that it “demands that any final agreement with Iran will include a clear and unambiguous Iranian recognition of Israel’s right to exist.” However, the problem remains that Iran blatantly opposes its existence. The commander of the Basiji militia of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards was reported saying that “erasing Israel off the map” was “non-negotiable”. 

Iran’s support of terrorist groups who have vowed to destroy Israel include groups like Hezbollah, Hamas, and Islamic jihad. Their support for these groups displays their lack of support for Israel. Iranian-supported militias have also been tremendously active in Iraq and Yemen, where their forces are engaging in sectarian civil war against Sunni populations. As President Obama displays discontentment for getting foreign relations to support Israel, he also does not choose to comment on Iran’s expansion of middle eastern influence.