where science meets humanity. >> this is some of the best driving i've every done, even though i can't see. >> tech know. >> we're here in the vortex. >> monday, 5:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america. skirmishes. >> this is not a personal disagreement between president obama and me. i deeply appreciate all that he has done for israel in many fields. >> the israeli prime minister controversial decision to address congress at the house speaker, while

he's reaching accord with iran over their nuclear program, determined to stop any deal with iran. >> what's the rush? unless your view is that it's not possible to get a deal with iran. and it shouldn't even be tested. and that, i cannot agree with because as the president of the united states i'm looking at what the options are if we don't get a diplomatic resolution those options are narrow and not attractive. >> has netanyahu's decision put him on a collision course with the white house, and inviting a foreign leader to weigh in on a congressional debate. we're glad you found us at our new time and our new home, it's the "inside story."

>> this all started, specifically speaker of the house john boehner offer to israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu to speak. proalt coal calls for the white house to know about it beforehand. when john boehner reached out he left out the obama administration. nevertheless netanyahu is sticking to his plan. he wants to make sure bad deal. the rest of the p-5 plus 1 over the offer that has been made to iran. >> 12 years in the making, an agreement that would limit iran's nuclear capabilities is said to be close. iran and the six countries involved must reach some kind of framework by march 24th. that's why netanyahu is seeking the support of those in the u.s.

congress who are similarly wary of iran. republicans and some democrats want to impose some more sanctions while the negotiations are ongoing. >> so that's why i have little hope in this deal athat that's why prime minister netanyahu is so concerned about the deal. see doesn't have the luxury of living an illusion, he doesn't have the luxury that somehow we can work this out that we're somehow dealing with luxembourg or belgium. he knows their true intentions. >> i don't want to be coy. the prime minister and i have real differences around iran sanctions. david cameron and angela agree with me, that it does not make sense to sour the negotiations a month or two before they're

about to be completed. >> netanyahu now walks a fine line between the executive and the legislative branches of the government, rocking the bipartisan zone occupied by israel and his own job is not secure. >> equally i know that the president appreciates my responsible. my foremost responsibility to protect and defend the security of israel. i'm going to the united states not because i seek a confrontation with the president. but because i must fulfill my obligation to speak up on a matter that affects the very survival of my country. >> netanyahu's decision to speak is not playing well with some in israel, either. elections are a little over a month away and he can't count on a photo op with president obama when he comes to the u.s. >> as i said before i talk to him all the time. our teams constantly coordinate

. we have a practice of not meeting with leaders right before their elections, two weeks before their elections. >> so we know two things right now. prime minister netanyahu is scheduled to address congress on iran and he won't be coming to the white house during his visit next month. we want to start our conversation tonight in israel where robbie sable joins us. he's a retired foreign service officer, currently a professional of international law at hebrew university. robbie sable, welcome. is this situation getting as much attention in israel? >> even more. it's a major issue here because the israel public sees the dilemma. we very much don't want to annoy the president of the united states, we very much wants to main the bipart sudan support for israel but we have a real

dilemma real problem. >> let's take it at face value that there is some worry about iran. is there an undertone of insecurity about america's position? after all, if you believe the netanyahu line at the moment you'd have to brief that president obama is willing to make an agreement that could put israel in danger. do you think he is? >> the problem is, we're closer to iran than the united states. iran has threatened to destroy israel. it hasn't threatened to destroy the united states. so when you are near the threat you feel it more intensely than the united states. for the united states it's a major foreign policy issue. for us it could be a matter of national survival. so obviously our mind is more concentrated on it on the issue than we think the united states is. >> even with israel public opinion really worried about

iran does where people in israel come down on the netanyahu showdown have to do with where they are politically in the first place? >> well, i think there's a board consensus in israel on all parties athat vaughn a threat. that if iran achieves nuclear weapons or is in the threshold of achieving a nuclear weapon this is a dire threat to israel. there is a board agreement among all parties that israel should do at all possible to resist this. would the speech be seen as a snub to the president of the united states and would it affect the bipartisan support? so this is the issue on the -- for the israeli public and obviously i think there's more support for the speech among voters for netanyahu than there is among the opposition. but on the issue of iran i think there's a consensus in

israel. >> israeli politicians have long experienced meeting with congressional leaders make their interests known to all parties in congress. was there another way to accomplish what netanyahu is coming to washington to do besides going ahead with an address to a joints session of congress? >> well, this is the platform for making israel's trios known. israel's voice known. but in the past it's always been bipartisan and with the voice of president known. in this case it tends not to be bipartisan and we have to present a case to of iran that is a real threat to israel bipartisan support of a president who is been very supportive of israel's security needs, this is the dilemma and we are trying to find a way out.

i don't think we've found a way out. >> well, the white house doesn't seem to be find ing it either. there is a bit of too. would you expect the speech will go ahead and scheduled? >> i think so. netanyahu sees it as vital to present to the u.s. congress and u.s. public the threat of iran. if there's some way this could be done as i said earlier with support of the white house and of both parties obviously this would be in israel's interest and i think israeli government is very much aware of this. >> there is discussion of protocol and sometimes protocol can be set aside sometimes it's not. can you imagine a situation where an american president would go address a session

of the knesset, without the agreement to those in israel? >> i think not but i think israel last the key the that so i don't think it's a quite good analogy. >> well, i guess that's the difference between global superpowers and small countries in tough neighborhoods. intor sable thanks so much for joining us. >> thank you. >> we'll be back with more "inside story" after a short break. when we return, two americans talking about the israeli-american relationship, partisanship and the obama netanyahu relationship as well. remember when politics was supposed to stop at the water's edge? stay with us. it's "inside story." >> you know how they say that everybody has a pupose in life? well at one time

i felt that selling cocaine was my purpose. >> we was starving just looking for a way to succeed. >> the first time i seen rock cocaine was 1980. >> the murder rate was sky high... >> south of the 10 freway, was kind of a no man's land... >> ...you know... we're selling it to the blacks... so you go into these neighborhoods there's no cops, you can sell where you want, and when they start killing each other, nobody cares! >> i was going through like a million dollars worth of drugs just about every day. >> it's like gold... we can make a fortune... >> he was maybe the biggest guy in l.a. >> freeway rick was getting his dope from a very big operator... i think we're into something that's bigger than us... something we really can't deal with. >> they had been trafficking on behalf of the united states government. >> she could prove what she was saying... >> crack in the system

>> and from the perspective of u.s. interests and i believe from the perspectives of israeli government, although i can't speak for them, it is better to get a diplomatic solution. >> that's president obama, trying to stop iran from becoming a nuclear power. as you heard earlier, the president's wondering what's the rush, and negotiations approach their agreed upon deadline. we want to continue our conversation on prime minister netanyahu's speech before the u.s. congress. mort kline and matt dust. mort kline, what does it tell

you, for a risky gambit for him? >> this is an extremely serious issue where israel's very existence is threatened. where khamenei. moreover khamenei has called for the destruction of america and has called america iran's number 1 enemy and called american enemy who smiles the great satan so we're both threatened and america is going to be threatened very soon even more than they have now. because the icbms will be able to reach maicialg in a year. it is so serious that congress has enacted legislation where protective elements in the east coast of america to protect themselves in case they do launch an icbm nuclear strike against the united states.

threatening the murder of millions of people around the world. that's why it's an imperative for netanyahu to try convince congress and have a really solid deal where iran cannot in any way develop nuclear weapons in any time in the foreseeable future. that's why it's so critically important that he accept the major podium on the iran nuclear weapons deal. >> one of the few things americans agree on is israel should be safe and secure. do you really think that the currents administration in the white house is risking the future existence, future security of israel? >> well, president obama claims he will do everything in his power to stop iran from getting nuclear weapons. but it's strange, when you hear one of the experts who is in most danger of iran's nuclear

weapons, benjamin netanyahu, try and see whether he has ideas to strengthen america's hands and make sure the deal is strong. the fact that he doesn't want him to speak or to meet with him, the fact he has caved in on many issues up until now, allowing uranium to be enriched centrifuges in place, 20,000 of them, rather than destroying them, not making a case of the intercontinental ballistic missiles, i'm very worried about president obama's seriousness about stopping iran, especially that he doesn't want netanyahu to give him important thoughts on the issue, as an american citizen who cares deeply about israel. >> matt dust, you don't see this

the same way do you? >> i want to make this clear. this is 92nd about netanyahu and obama. they are in negotiations with their partners with p-5 plus 1 the idea this is just u.s. and iran sitting down together, it is not. the u.s. has worked closely with its allies, and president obama and his administration have heard from netanyahu and other members of the israeli government and are hearing from them constantly. you'll hear of this from israeli leaders all the time. that the level of coordination has never been better. so this idea that the president simply won't listen to what netanyahu says or more broadly that the american people haven't heard what netanyahu says doesn't make much sense. from but implicit in the critique that's coming from

israel is that we understand, we don't think the united states understands, that if you make a deal with iran, we're in danger. does the leadership circle, in israel, believe that the united states is willing to risk israel's security? >> you know i think what we have are two -- between netanyahu and his circle and president obama and his circle these two men we need to recognize speak for constituencies within their own countries do have differing views from iran and differing views about the appropriate uses of power. but i don't think there's serious doubt in israel that the united states would somehow sell are israel out and make a deal with iran that would endanger the existence of the state of israel. i think netanyahu himself and the people around him simply don't believe that any deal that leaves iran with the nuclear program with the ability to

enrich yeurm within uranium, within their own country, they have come to the conclusion that it's simply not a workable deal to demand that iran give up its entire nuclear enrichmentrichment program. they decided a workable deal that puts iran's nuclear program under heavy scrutiny. >> mort kline, do you believe that that agency which is tasked with doing this kind of work can keep track of iran's centrifuges? >> they can keep track of what they're allowed to keep track of. but the iran continues to do research and development it's permitted to improve the centrifuges to make it easier to develop a nuclear weapon, and

their military installations like parchin, there is the iraq plutonium plant which is an alternatively to nuclear weapons which continues full force. and by the way, 75% of israelis in the very recent poll thinks president obama is not supportive of israel. so the israelis are very nervous about the american administration but this is not only dangerous to israel, this is dangerous to us here in america where there could be a serious threat. why is there a negative that prime minister netanyahu speak to congress with a major pode yimpodium,so the american people can hear about this issue, why is that a negative? i simply don't understand it as robert, senator menendez said,

when i hear president obama speak his talking points sound more like the talking points coming straight out of rawrch than iran thantalking points out of america. >> still ahead, in this current confrontation of a netanyahu speech to joint session he of congress could iran put israel in mortal danger and the assertion that the united states is willing to gamble with israel's security, hurting the relationship? stay with us. it's "inside story." >> sunday night. >> 140 world leaders will take the podium. >> get the full story. >> there is real disunity in the security council. >> about issues that impact your world. >> infectious diseases are a major threat to health. >> "the week ahead". sunday 8:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america.

♪ ♪ >> we're back with "inside story" on al jazeera america. i'm ray suarez. my guest earlier in the program rejected the situation but i'm going to try again.

would you imagine that the president of the united states would address the knesset without being invited by the prime minister? >> no i don't. butter this whole process was very much out of the ordinary. this is something that was cooked up with netanyahu and his advisor, with john boehner, the president found out as it was announced publicly. netanyahu himself accepted the invitation later but there's just no question that the administration was surprised by this invitation in a way that was very, very out of the ordinary. >> mort kline, does it make any sense to, well, tick off one of the political parties of our two main parties in the united states? >> look, even the new york times had a story saying that president obama was informed of respond. in the same way in 2011 when

prime minister netanyahu spoke to congress, obama was informed and didn't respond then. i can assure you, if the knesset wanted president obama to speak, we have to understand, we are dealing with iran that is the biggest funder of this this this this this different than al qaeda and i.s.i.s. we wouldn't be allowing al qaeda and i.s.i.s. of keeping centrifuges. >> i'm trying to determine whether it makes good sense for a prime minister of israel to

provide a speech to joint members of congress. not to move ahead, until we get an outcome one way or the other, and a head of another state is coming and entering that debate. is that a good idea? >> it is a compelling imperative to let the american people know about what is at stake here when it comes to this nuclear weapons issue. and this is bizarre. president obama says he will veto a sanctions bill the which will only take place if there's no deal. and obama doesn't have to implement it. he can choose not to implement it. why would he say that he doesn't want sanctions if there's no deal? he's simply appeasing iran and many democrats are very upset and very concerned about him. so no, this is a major podium, a serious danger that threatens

america the world and israel and prime minister netanyahu must take an opportunity ourge american people and congress. that there should be no nuclear weapons. >> matt gutman, what can the best be hoped for from this? >> as i see it at this point his ability to influence the debate has been severely diminished the way this is kind of at this point it's becoming a bit counterproductive and he's even receiving serious criticism in israel for the way he's been dealing with this. but at this point, remember the elections are march 17, about two weeks after the speech. it's important for his own political base values he's seen as someone who can resist pressure. he goes forward anyway and

pleads israel's case on the international stage. where we go from there it remains to be seen. the elections results, that will be in no way determinative on how the united states moofts forward but the united states in close consultation with its allies. >> risking tinkering with a long time bipartisan support of israel? >> the fundamentals will i don't think really not change. are the relations at the military security intelligence level certainly the political level are deep and strong. but i think there's really no question that this stunt between boehner and netanyahu together has really opened up some very serious fish

ures. >> a thumb in the eye of the united states president and i think that's something that will not go away soon. >> matt dust, mort kline, thank you very much for joining us. that's this edition ever "inside story." we want you to talk back to jury television. give us your feedback what you heard on today's story. the handle is @ajinsidestoryam. i'm ray suarez.

♪ an escalation in violence in eastern ukraine hours before a new cease-fire is set to go into effect. ♪ now you are watchingays. i am david foster. in this program, the u.n. says the syrian president, bashar al-assad must be part of the solution to end fighting in his country. the opposition says he is the problem. >> unyou had investigation again, an argentine prosecutor renews a probe into a cover-up by the president christina kirschner.