White House swipes at Netanyahu with tweet of Iran bomb diagram

close

Video

Amb. Gillerman: WH 'deteriorating' relationship with Israel

Former Israeli ambassador to the U.N. reacts to apparent swipe at Netanyahu over Iran deal

The White House took an apparent swipe at Benjamin Netanyahu on Twitter Wednesday, posting a diagram similar to one used by the Israeli prime minister -- only this time, using it to defend the Iran nuclear deal.

The White House tweet included a cartoonish sketch of a bomb. On the left side were the supposed consequences of not striking a deal, including resumed production of highly enriched uranium and no limits on that stockpile. On the right side were the supposed benefits of a deal, including "no production or stockpile of highly enriched uranium."

The sketch appeared to be almost identical to the one held up by Netanyahu during a 2012 United Nations speech. In that address, he warned of the consequences of a nuclear-armed Iran and urged the world to prevent that outcome -- holding up the bomb diagram and, dramatically, drawing a red line near the top.

The White House diagram includes the same red line and reads, “Under the framework for an Iran nuclear deal, Iran's uranium enrichment pathway to a weapon will be shut down.”

In the tweet, the fuse of the bomb is being cut with scissors.

Though the message makes no mention of Israel, it's an unmistakable reference to the prime minister's address and just the latest episode in rising tensions between the Obama and Netanyahu administrations over the nuclear talks.

Netanyahu publicly opposed the deal framework announced last week in Switzerland, and even demanded that any final deal include language affirming that Iran recognizes Israel's right to exist. Obama administration officials have rejected that appeal, saying the talks will only focus on the nuclear issue. They also say they would never agree to a deal that threatens Israel's security.

The Hill first reported on the tweet.