--- description: In response to a question about statements made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu title: Obama: Staking Iran Deal on Israel Recognition Would Be 'Misjudgment' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7633819496f30f32/698786ef2dce0117aa9de65f/barack-obama.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [White House](/tag/white-house/) ## White House Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Obama Rejects Recognition of Israel as Condition of Iran Deal by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 6, 2015 10:06 PM CUT  US President Barack Obama makes a statement at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 2, 2015 after a deal was reached on Iran's nuclear program. US President Barack Obama makes a statement at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 2, 2015 after a deal was reached on Iran's nuclear program.Nicholas Kamm—AFP/Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 6, 2015 10:06 PM CUT **Correction appended** President Barack Obama said Monday that making Iranian recognition of Israel a precondition of a final nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic would be a”fundamental misjudgment.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been fiercely critical of the framework agreement negotiated between Iran and six world powers, has proposed that any final deal must include a “clear and unambiguous Iranian commitment of Israel’s right to exist.” But Obama told [NPR](http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/04/06/397892256/obama-conditioning-iran-nuclear-deal-on-recognition-of-israel-is-misjudgment "undefined") in an interview that such a demand would be unrealistic. “The notion that we would condition Iran not getting nuclear weapons in a verifiable deal on Iran recognizing Israel is really akin to saying that we won’t sign a deal unless the nature of the Iranian regime completely transforms,” Obama said in the [interview.](http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/04/06/397892256/obama-conditioning-iran-nuclear-deal-on-recognition-of-israel-is-misjudgment "undefined") He added, “I want to return to this point: We want Iran not to have nuclear weapons precisely because we can’t bank on the nature of the regime changing. That’s exactly why we don’t want to have nuclear weapons.” The White House has been playing offense on the outline of the deal intended to limit Iran’s ability to create a nuclear weapon, with [Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz](http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/04/06/today-in-politics-a-nuclear-scientist-from-m-i-t-takes-the-bully-pulpit-on-iran/ "undefined") making weekend news show appearances and stopping by the White House Press Briefing to defend its merits while Secretary of State John Kerry takes a vacation. \[[_NPR_](http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/04/06/397892256/obama-conditioning-iran-nuclear-deal-on-recognition-of-israel-is-misjudgment "undefined")\] **_Correction:_** _The original version of this story misstated Benjamin Netanyahu’s title. He is Israel’s Prime Minister._ _Read next:_ [_Netanyahu Presses U.S. to Secure a ‘Better Deal’ With Iran_](http://time.com/3771676/israel-benjamin-netanyahu-iran-framework/?iid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3773184/obama-israel-iran-nuclear-deal-netanyahu/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3773184/obama-israel-iran-nuclear-deal-netanyahu/"},"headline":"Obama Rejects Recognition of Israel as Condition of Iran Deal","datePublished":"2015-04-06T22:06:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T05:44:32.831Z","description":"Says making it a condition of the final deal would be a \"fundamental misjudgement\"","url":"https://time.com/3773184/obama-israel-iran-nuclear-deal-netanyahu/","keywords":["White House"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7633819496f30f32/698786ef2dce0117aa9de65f/barack-obama.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7633819496f30f32/698786ef2dce0117aa9de65f/barack-obama.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-POLITICS-IRAN-NUCLEAR-OBAMA","caption":"US-POLITICS-IRAN-NUCLEAR-OBAMA","creditText":"Nicholas Kamm—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3773184/obama-israel-iran-nuclear-deal-netanyahu/","name":"Obama Rejects Recognition of Israel as Condition of Iran Deal"}}]}] ```