Boehner: Only Bibi can talk about radical threat

Despite the criticism he has received, House Speaker John Boehner does not regret his decision to invite Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress in early March.

In an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes on Sunday, Boehner said he notified the White House of his decision only on the morning that he extended the invitation to Netanyahu.

“There’s nobody in the world who can talk about the threat of radical terrorism, nobody can talk about the threat that the Iranians pose, not just to the Middle East and to Israel, our longest ally, but to the entire world, but Bibi Netanyahu,” Boehner said in the interview.

Boehner then criticized President Barack Obama for failing to take the threat of terrorism and the Iranian nuclear threat seriously.

“The president is trying to act like it’s not there,” he said. “But it is there. And it’s going to be a threat to our homeland if we don’t address it in a bigger way.”

Asked about passing additional sanctions on Iran to stop its nuclear program, Boehner said that he thinks “the House believes that more sanctions, if they don’t come to an agreement, are in order,” and that he disagrees with Obama, who has said that additional sanctions during negotiations would ensure the failure of diplomatic efforts.

Republican Senator John McCain on Sunday defended Boehner’s decision to invite Netanyahu to speak before Congress. McCain said that he feels the relationship between the Israeli and the U.S. governments has deteriorated, and suggested that the Iran issue has likely contributed to the worsening ties.

“I do believe that it’s important that Prime Minister Netanyahu speak to the American people,” McCain said. “We need congressional ratification of any agreement that is made [with Iran].”

Netanyahu addressed the Iran issue on Monday during a visit to Israel Aerospace Industries’ Systems, Missiles and Space Group.

“The agreement now being forged between the major powers and Iran is unacceptable to Israel,” Netanyahu said.