Binyamin Netanyahu’s speech to the United States Congress on 3 March 2015 was targeted at several audiences, among them the Israeli electorate, Republicans in his audience, and the wider American public. The Israeli prime minister also sought to put direct pressure on Barack Obama and John Kerry at a moment when their attempts to get a deal with Tehran are at a crucial stage.
The central theme of the speech was that Obama’s stance will not stop Iran developing nuclear weapons and that these will directly imperil the very existence of Israel: "I've come here today because, as prime minister of Israel, I feel a profound obligation to speak to you about an issue that could well threaten the survival of my country and the future of my people: Iran's quest for nuclear weapons."
Netanyahu’s continual reference to the “existential threat” underlines his appeal to the American public over Obama's head - a rare step taken in the full knowledge that it strikes at the very status of the United States presidency in its own country. In normal circumstances this would be quite a risky strategy, but Netanyahu has calculated that he can afford to pursue it. Why?
