Senator Feinstein calls on Netanyahu to 'contain himself'
Democrat says Israeli PM has not offered any real alternative to nuclear framework deal.
By JPOST.COM STAFF
Veteran Democratic Senator Dianne Feistein criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netantyahu Sunday for continuing to rail against the framework agreement reached with Iran over its nuclear program without offering an alternative plan.“I wish that he would contain himself, because he has put out no real alternative,” Feinstein said in an interview with CNN."I don’t think it's helpful for Israel to come out and oppose this one opportunity to change a major dynamic – which is downhill – in this part of the world," she said.She rejected Netanyahu's assertion that the deal would endanger Israel.Feinstein said that the deal was "a compromise," but was still "a better agreement, candidly, than I ever thought it was going to be.”The Democrat said that she was hopeful the framework deal would "signal a new day.”Feinstein had previously been critical of Netanyahu, rejecting his "arrogant" assertion that he was "speaking for all Jews" in his controversial March 3 address to Congress in which he spoke out against the emerging Iranian nuclear deal.The framework deal was agreed to by Iran and the P5+1 group of world powers - the US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany - on Thursday after marathon negotiations in Switzerland. The sides must now work out the details for a comprehensive deal by June 30.Jerusalem will use the three months until the deadline for the comprehensive agreement to argue forcefully against many of its provisions, specifically that it allows Iran’s massive nuclear infrastructure to remain in place, according to a a senior government official.Netanyahu took to the US airwaves on Sunday, giving interviews to CNN, NBC and ABC in which he stated that it was not too late to achieve a better deal with Iran.