The cries of glee emanating from Vienna on July 14 set off battle cries in Jerusalem. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to announce that Israel is not bound by the nuclear agreement reached between Iran and the world powers. Across the ocean, the US ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, was quick to announce that she would submit the agreement as a resolution to the UN Security Council for an urgent vote.

The signatures on the agreement of the Security Council’s five permanent members ensure its passage through UN channels. But Netanyahu is not giving up and is reaching out to every corner of Capitol Hill in the hopes of lining up a sufficient majority to block the deal — a majority large enough to override a presidential veto. A short while after word came from Vienna, Netanyahu tied his own hands with a unanimous decision by the government’s diplomatic-security Cabinet rejecting the agreement.

On July 12, Netanyahu formed a panel to assess the implications of a bizarre proposal by opposition lawmaker Knesset member Sharon Gal, imposing the death penalty on those committing security-related offenses, known as “terrorists,” before the government formulates its position. At the same time, the complex international nuclear agreement with Iran had not even been translated into Hebrew when the ministers declared all-out war on the document on which the ink had barely dried.

Let's assume that Netanyahu’s personal charm, aided a bit by Sheldon Adelson’s personal fortune, succeeds in obtaining the required majority to bring US President Barack Obama to his knees. Let's assume that the Republicans manage to humiliate the leader of the United States and force him to veto an agreement perceived by many as one of his peak foreign policy achievements. Will the congressional decision be binding on Russia, China and the European Union states that are signatories to the agreement?