Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will now address a joint meeting of Congress on March 3, three weeks later than he was originally invited to speak about Iran, so he can attend a conference of a pro-Israel group in Washington, House Speaker John Boehner said on Twitter today.
As we previously reported, Boehner invited Netanyahu to Washington on Wednesday. The White House, which was not consulted about the invitation, called it a "departure from ... protocol."
Boehner defended the decision Wednesday, saying, "The Congress can make this decision on its own." (You can read more about how this is done at the House of Representatives' website.)
The Associated Press reports that a statement from Netanyahu's office said the speech will give him the chance to "thank President Barack Obama, Congress and the American people for their support of Israel."
Netanyahu, who faces a tough election in Israel on March 17, is reported to have a frosty relationship with Obama, but he enjoys support in Congress.
He was originally scheduled to address a joint meeting of Congress about Iran on Feb. 11. He will now make that speech March 3. The Israeli prime minister will also address the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the pro-Israel group that will be holding its annual conference, which begins March 1.
NPR's Michele Kelemen tells our Newscast unit that Netanyahu's speech will come just as the U.S. and other world powers try to meet their latest deadline on negotiations over Iran's nuclear program.
There is bipartisan support to impose more sanctions on Iran if the talks fail, but Obama has threatened to veto any sanctions, saying they would derail the talks. And Michele reports that European countries are urging Congress not to introduce "new hurdles" at this critical stage of negotiations.
Israel views Iran as a threat.
Netanyahu, who previously addressed Congress in 2011 and 1996, is not the only leader to have addressed a joint meeting. More recently, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko addressed Congress in September 2014, and South Korean leader Park Geun-hye spoke in May 2013.
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