Here's What Netanyahu Told Congress

Benjamin Netanyahu knows what everyone in Washington was thinking this morning.

"I know that my speech has been the subject of much controversy," the Israeli prime minister said during an address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday. "I deeply regret that some perceive my being here as political. That was never my intention. I want to thank you, Democrats and Republicans, for your common support for Israel year after year, decade after decade."

Netanyahu received a warm welcome in Congress, getting a standing ovation before he began speaking. He praised President Obama for his support of Israel, and thanked the U.S. "for everything you've done for Israel."

Then, he got right to Iran.

"I'm standing here in Washington, D.C., and the difference is so stark," Netanyahu said. "America's founding document promises life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Iran's founding document pledges death, tyranny, and the pursuit of jihad, and states are collapsing across the Middle East."

Netanyahu, as expected, delivered an aggressive warning against the nuclear deal taking shape between U.S. and Iranian officials. "My friends, for over a year we've been told that no deal is better than a bad deal. Well, this is a bad deal. It is a very bad deal," he said. "We are better off without it."

The deal emerging from American-led negotiations, Netanyahu said, makes two significant concessions: It leaves Iran with enrichment infrastructure that could allow it to build a nuclear weapon in the future. And the international inspectors the pact calls for will track any violations, he said, but they won't be able to stop them.

"That's why this deal is so bad. It doesn't block Iran's path to the bomb, it paves Iran's path to the bomb," Netanyahu said. "So why would anyone make this deal? Because they hope that Iran will change for the better in the coming years. Or they believe that the alternative to this deal is worse. Well, I disagree. I don't believe that Iran's radical regime will change for the better after this deal."

Offering to lift U.S. sanctions against Iran is not the way to go either, he said. "If Iran wants to be treated like a normal country," Netanyahu said, "let it act like a normal country." 

All sides involved in negotiations want to keep Iran from gaining the capability to acquire a nuclear weapon. Netanyahu has expressed skepticism of the talks before, saying that they threaten his country's national security, but these remarks had received considerable more attention because of political implications here and in Israel.

On Tuesday, the prime minister seemed to suggest that diplomacy alone, which the Obama administration believes is the way to curb Iran's nuclear program, isn't working. "At a time when many hope that Iran will join the community of nations, Iran is busy gobbling up the nations," he said. "We must all stand together to stop Iran's march of conquest, subjugation, and terror."

Netanyahu said that Iran poses a more pressing threat than the terrorist group Islamic State. "The difference is that ISIS is armed with butcher knives, captured weapons, and YouTube," he said. "Iran could be soon armed with intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear bombs. We must always remember—I'll say it one more time—the greatest danger facing our world is the marriage of militant Islam with nuclear weapons. To defeat ISIS and let Iran get nuclear weapons would be to win the battle but lose the war."

In January, House Speaker John Boehner caught the White House off guard when, without consulting administration officials, he invited Netanyahu to address Congress. On Capitol Hill, the visit quickly turned partisan, and nearly 60 Democrats in the House and Senate skipped Netanyahu's visit in protest of what they believe is an attack on President Obama by congressional Republicans. On Monday, Secretary of State John Kerry, while speaking to reporters in Geneva, indirectly warned Netanyahu against sharing information about the ongoing talks during Tuesday's speech.

In Israel, the visit is essentially a campaign stop for Netanyahu, whose Likud Party is facing an election on March 17. It gives the prime minister a chance to build support for his party at home, where voters are starting to wonder if his Iran policy is working or has already failed.

Obama has said he won't meet with Netanyahu this week so as not to appear as if he is trying to influence the Israeli elections. White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Monday that the president didn't watch Netanyahu's speech at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's policy conference, and that he likely won't watch the entire address to Congress.

Many people were itching to go to the historic speech, however. Boehner's office told The New York Times it received requests for 10 times as many tickets as there were seats available, and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said, "The tickets are hotter than fresh latkes."