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Netanyahu Sidelined on Iran By His Anti-Rouhani Speech

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, known as “Mr. Public Diplomacy,” in fact could not adequately handle the change in tone on Iran, and turned Israel into a marginal player in the current diplomatic process.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also seen on a television monitor, addresses the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York October 1, 2013. Netanyahu said on Tuesday the only way to peacefully stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons is to combine tough sanctions with a credible military threat and that Israel was ready to stand alone in defending itself. REUTERS/Adrees Latif (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3FHF1
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In the weeks leading up to his trip to New York, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu devotedly prepared the fine details of the speech he would deliver before the UN General Assembly on Oct 1. At his request, he received intelligence — primarily technological — that shows Iran is only a few months away from achieving its goal of a nuclear bomb. Netanyahu’s goal was to publicly expose and shame Iran in the eyes of the world, so that the other nations would not be deceived by Tehran’s “smile offensive.”

Netanyahu writes his own speeches, especially when it comes to such an important speech, on a topic that stands at the top of his agenda as prime minister. He writes by hand, erases, changes, rewrites and so on until the result is satisfactory. The prime minister’s “bomb speech” at last year’s General Assembly, which he labored on for months, is considered a highlight of his long-standing public diplomacy campaign to stop the Iranian nuclear program.

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