by Joshua Lapide

The Israeli prime minister wants to stop the "bad deal" with Iran that could "threaten the survival of Israel." Obama retorts that Netanyahu's dark predictions never came true. At home, some believe Netanyahu sought this visit to boost his chances at re-election. For ordinary Israelis, there is too much talk about Iran and nothing about domestic issues and peace with the Palestinians.

Jerusalem (AsiaNews) - Just two weeks before Israel's general elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in the United States to speak before Congress and meet the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which he did yesterday.

House Speaker John Boehner invited Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress Netanyahu without informing the White House.

For almost a month, Netanyahu's address has been front-page news in Israel. Ostensibly, the goal is to stop the deal with Iran and the end of sanctions. For the Israeli leader, a US-Iran deal on curtailing Tehran's nuclear ambitions "could threaten the survival of Israel."

Iran and the so-called 5+1 group (US, Russia, Britain, France, China and Germany) are involved in negotiations in Geneva. They have time until 31 March to reach an agreement lifting the economic and financial embargo against Iran and allow it develop a peaceful nuclear programme.

Netanyahu has spoken about the "Iranian threat" for years. In 2012, in a speech at the UN in New York, he predicted that Iran would have the atomic bomb within a year. However, even Israel's national intelligence agency, the Mossad, recently downplayed the danger, saying that there was no evidence that Tehran had achieved the ability to build nuclear weapons.

Indeed, during its talks with the 5 + 1 group, Iran has indicated its willingness to limit uranium enrichment and open more facilities to UN inspectors.

Still, Netanyahu has promised to disclose today details about what he deems a "bad deal" for its lack of safeguards for Israel.

For his part, US President Obama noted that Netanyahu's predictions about Iran turned out not to be true.

Meanwhile, 42 Democratic lawmakers plan to boycott Netanyahu's speech, which threatens to undermine the friendship between the US and Israel.

Back in Israel, things are seen differently. According to Netanyahu's opponents, the prime minister is using the Iranian threat and his "show" before the US Congress for electoral purposes.

They point out that his "urgent" speech was initially set for mid-February, but was postponed to be closer to 17 March, when Israelis go to the polls.

According to some members of Netanyahu's Likud party, a good speech by the prime minister could earn him two more seats in the Knesset.

For many Israelis however, Iran's nuclear programme has crowded out other issues, like housing, unemployment and peace with the Palestinians.

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