White House: Netanyahu trip will be departure from protocol

‘The White House has reacted to news that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been invited by US House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner to address Congress next month, saying it would be a departure from protocol.

Hours after US President Barack Obama threatened to veto any Iran sanctions bill during his State of the Union address on Tuesday, Boehner, a Republican from Ohio, invited Netanyahu to Congress to speak about the so-called threat from Iran, as part of spurning of Obama.

The invitation to address Congress, extended without having consultations with the White House and the State Department, marks a sharp rejection of Obama’s plea for the new Republican-dominated Congress to stay out of negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.’

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