Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's official Twitter account made clear the goal of his late September visit to the United States. Before embarking on a plane Saturday [Sept. 28] for New York, Netanyahu posted on the 140-character social media site the simple statement, “I will tell #truth in face of the sweet-talk and the onslaught of smiles. One must talk facts and one must tell the truth.”

It is no coincidence that the Israeli leader is focusing on the issue of truth after President Hassan Rouhani clearly sucked the venom from Israel’s continuous attacks on Iran. By stressing issues like telling “the truth” and complaining about “the sweet-talk,” the Israeli leader is reflecting on the effectiveness of the newly elected and moderate Iranian leader to settle issues that have caused his country so much trouble in recent years.

Netanyahu’s mission is made difficult by the frenzy of interviews, the op-ed by Rouhani in The Washington Post, his UN speech and open press conferences. It is made even more complicated by the 15-minute phone call between US President Barack Obama and Rouhani, the first direct US-Iranian presidential contact since 1979.

I will tell #truth in face of the sweet-talk and the onslaught of smiles. One must talk facts and one must tell the truth.