Obama distances himself from Israel

Against the background of negotiations to resolve the nuclear dispute with Tehran and growing Iranian influence in Iraq and Yemen, the detuning between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Obama administration reached new heights. In the "Washington Post", known for its excellent relations with US intelligence columnist David Ignatius reported on Monday, the White House would not like so far share the secret material on the state of nuclear talks with Iran in detail with the Netanyahu government.



The reason for this is Netanyahu's disclosure of US classified information to Israeli media, thereby thwarting negotiations, Ignatius writes. So the end of January information had appeared on Israeli television, which Washington under certain conditions was ready, Iran concede up to 6,500 centrifuges for enriching uranium. Netanyahu made it clear in a telephone conversation with President Obama on 11 January, he was always unwilling to Iran in order to grant a right to enrichment and operation of centrifuges, Ignatius on. Obama had felt this as a hardening of the Israeli position.

Difficult Relationships

For years the difficult relationship between Obama and Netanyahu suffered another setback when it was announced that John Boehner, the Republican Speaker of the House, the Israeli prime minister has invited without the knowledge of the White House to make a speech in early March before the entire Congress. The Obama administration, as well as influential Democratic members of Congress viewed this as an affront, because Netanyahu thus a highly effective opportunity for an attack on President Obama's nuclear negotiations with Iran get. Boehner defended his cloak-and-dagger operation in a TV interview on Sunday on the grounds that he wanted to avoid "interference" of the White House.

An Israeli government official confirmed to the newspaper "Haaretz" on Monday that Washington continues derive no more detailed details of the nuclear negotiations on the Netanyahu government. The information was now "of lower resolution," the official said. Responsible for the Middle East at the National Security Coordinator Philip Gordon did yesterday during a visit to Israel, the disclosure of information to Israeli media negotiation discussed.

Iran's influence

Meanwhile threaten the Israeli-American relationship further charges by the expansion of Iranian sphere of influence in the Arab world. So bear in Iraq alongside Kurdish associations Shiite militias and soldiers now the Iranian Quds Brigades the brunt of the fight against terror militia Islamic State. According to US intelligence information, the number of coordinated Tehran Shiite militias is at least 120,000 fighters while the Washington-backed Iraqi army has shrunk to around 50,000 soldiers.

Another Iranian-American contact area was also created by the takeover of Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen. The United States signed on February 11 due to the unclear political and military situation in Yemen their message, but are American special forces in the country and continue to plan drone operations against the Yemeni Al-Qaeda offshoot. Although demonstrated Houthi fighters in recent weeks in the Yemeni capital Sanaa against the United States, the Houthi leaders should, however, reportedly American operations against al-Qaida in Yemen tolerate.

Nuclear deal with Tehran

It is not clear in Washington, to what extent Iran and Tehran related Lebanese Hezbollah support the Houthi rebels. However, it is assumed that both Hezbollah members and Iranian elite soldiers of the Quds units are involved in the formation of Huthi fighters. The Netanyahu government pursues any rapprochement between Washington and Tehran with the highest confidence and seems convinced that the Obama administration Israeli concerns about'll go against the nuclear negotiations to achieve a historic breakthrough in the frozen since 1979 relations with Tehran.

It helped in this context that President Obama's Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes had declared in a confidential circle in January 2014 a nuclear deal with Iran was "probably the biggest foreign policy in second thing President Obama's term of office." Rhodes had compared such a deal with the meaning of Obamacare.