Hanegbi: It was PM’s speech on Iran at UN that prompted this visit

Tzachi Hanegbi, a very close Netanyahu confidante, asked on Channel 2 why the president is here right now, says Obama decided to come “on the day he heard Netanyahu’s speech” to the UN last fall, in which the prime minister set out his thinking on how to stop Iran.

Iran is the key reason for the visit, says Hanegbi, and the key section in Netanyahu’s airport speech was the early paragraph when the prime minister said: “Thank you for unequivocally affirming Israel’s sovereign right to defend itself by itself against any threat. Thank you for enhancing Israel’s ability to exercise that right through generous military assistance, revolutionary missile defense programs, and unprecedented security and intelligence cooperation.”

Israel’s Ambassador Michael Oren says Obama “always broadcasts warmth” to Israel.

What Obama wrote in Peres’s guestbook, as far as we can read it: “It is a great honor to visit Israel and reaffirm years of friendship between our countries and our people. It is also my honor to be hosted by President Peres, who has contributed to every aspect of Israeli society. Barack Obama.”