Binyamin Netanyahu
Binyamin NetanyahuReuters

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) warmly welcomed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's Congress address on Tuesday, calling it a forceful appeal for the "strongest possible deal to remove the Iranian nuclear threat."

In a joint statement by ADL National Chair Barry Curtiss-Lusher and ADL National Director Abraham H. Foxman, the two praised the speech.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu’s passionate and determined address made clear to Members of Congress, the American people, and the international community that an agreement that leaves intact a path for Iran to achieve its ambitions for nuclear weapons is not sufficient," they said.

The ADL leaders argued that the greatest impact of the speech "was the message sent to Iran, both by Prime Minister Netanyahu and by the support he received from Members of Congress, that there are serious and legitimate concerns about the direction of the negotiations and that the Iranian regime should not assume it will get its way."

In his speech, Netanyahu called for America to continue imposing sanctions on Iran while demanding the Islamic regime agree to three key conditions, namely that it stop its regional aggression, its support of terrorism worldwide, and its threats to annihilate Israel.

Responding to this call, ADL said "it was important to emphasize that the alternative to a bad deal is not necessarily war, but rather resolve to push for a better deal and to make suggestions of how to strengthen the negotiating posture. For example, an Iranian government seeking concessions and sanctions relief while it publicly calls for Israel’s destruction is unacceptable."

Despite Netanyahu's outline of a plan of action, US President Barack Obama responded to the speech by maligning it as "theater," and claiming Netanyahu hadn't presented an alternative to the Iran nuclear deal being formed.

"We recognize the good intentions of President Obama and his administration on this issue, and take seriously, while not necessarily agreeing with their concerns about what the alternatives may be to reaching an agreement," said ADL. "We take cognizance of the shared objective that the U.S. and Israel have in preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon."

"We hope the speech and continued bilateral conversations and consultations will help bolster efforts to ensure that any deal reached fundamentally eliminates the danger posed by Iran to the region and to international security," concluded the statement.