WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday tried to calm tensions with Israel before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's congressional address, yet insisted the Obama administration's diplomatic record with Iran entitles the U.S. to "the benefit of the doubt" as negotiators work toward a long-term nuclear deal.
Kerry said in an interview broadcast before he left for more talks in Switzerland with Iran's foreign minister that Netanyahu was welcome to speak in the U.S. and that the administration did not want the event "turned into some great political football."
That sentiment was a step back from some of the sharp rhetoric between the allies in recent weeks.
But Kerry stressed that Israel was safer as a result of the short-term nuclear pact that world powers and Iran reached in late 2013, and he described that improvement as the "standard we will apply to any agreement" with the Islamic Republic.
Officials have described the United States, Europe, Russia and China as considering a compromise that would see Iran's nuclear activities severely curtailed for at least a decade, with the restrictions and U.S. and Western economic penalties eased in the final years of a deal.
"We are going to test whether or not diplomacy can prevent this weapon from being created, so you don't have to turn to additional measures including the possibility of a military confrontation," Kerry told ABC's This Week.
"Our hope is that diplomacy can work. And I believe, given our success of the interim agreement, we deserve the benefit of the doubt to find out whether or not we can get a similarly good agreement with respect to the future."
Netanyahu, set to arrive in Washington later Sunday, will press his opposition to a diplomatic accommodation of Iran's program in a speech Tuesday to Congress. The prime minister says he is making the address out of concern for Israel's security.
Netanyahu "is welcome to speak in the United States," Kerry said.
"The administration is not seeking to politicize this," he said. "The main goal here is to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. On that the United States and Israel agree."
The invitation by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Netanyahu's acceptance have caused an uproar that has exposed tensions between Israel and the U.S., its most important ally.
Kerry said Sunday that it was "odd, if not unique," that the administration learned of the Israeli leader's address to Congress not through the usual diplomatic channels, but from Boehner, and that the "administration was not included in the process."
By consenting to speak, Netanyahu angered the White House, which was not consulted in advance, and Democrats, who were forced to choose between showing support for Israel and backing the president.
"I will do everything in my ability to secure our future," Netanyahu said before flying to Washington. He described himself as "an emissary" of the Jewish people.
Boehner said Iran's nuclear ambitions were a threat well beyond the region.
"We're not going to resolve this issue by sticking our heads in the sand," Boehner told CBS' Face the Nation.
He said Netanyahu "can talk about this threat, I believe, better than anyone. And the United States Congress wants to hear from him, and so do the American people."
Netanyahu is expected to criticize ongoing negotiations that many of President Barack Obama's administration officials believe could lead to one of the president's most significant foreign policy achievements. Critics of the prime minister's decision to accept the invitation describe it as a sign of disregard from an ally that so heavily relies on U.S. financial aid and diplomatic backing.
The congressional speech also has sparked criticism in Israel, where Netanyahu is seeking re-election on March 17. He also planned to speak today at the annual conference of the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC.
Netanyahu made stopping Iran a core campaign issue when he entered politics 27 years ago. Many Israelis, including many conservative politicians, don't consider the threat as urgent as he does, analysts say.
Iran insists its program is solely for peaceful energy and medical research purposes.
The United States and its negotiating partners are striving to meet an end-of-March deadline for negotiating the outline of an accord.
If they succeed, they have a June 30 deadline to nail down the technical details for a comprehensive agreement.
Obama's goal has been to resolve one of the West's foremost security worries by negotiating a deal that would curtail Iran's enrichment of uranium and other nuclear activities for at least a decade, under intensive scrutiny by the United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency, in exchange for easing sanctions on Iran.
Netanyahu considers unacceptable any deal that does not entirely end Iran's nuclear program.
The dispute has become more personal of late.
Last week, Obama's national security adviser, Susan Rice, described the timing and partisan manner of Netanyahu's visit as "destructive" for the U.S.-Israeli relationship.
On Sunday, Kerry painted a more positive picture of continued close cooperation. He said the U.S.-Israeli security partnership was closer than at any point before, and he noted the large investment of American money in the Jewish state's Iron Dome missile defense system.
"I was reviewing the record the other day," Kerry said. "We have intervened on Israel's behalf, in the last two years, more than several hundred -- a couple of hundred times in over 75 different fora in order to protect Israel." He added that "the administration is not seeking to politicize this."
Kerry spoke by phone with Netanyahu on Saturday, the State Department said. A senior State Department official, who declined to be identified in describing a private telephone conversation, said the discussion focused on the current state of the Iran talks, Netanyahu's visit to Washington and Kerry's concern about the financial plight of the Palestinian Authority.
Meanwhile, Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Netanyahu's assertion that he speaks on behalf all Jews is "arrogant" and that he does not speak for her.
On Saturday, Netanyahu made the case that his duties as prime minister are larger than just helping to guide his government.
"My responsibility is to worry not only about the state of Israel, but also the future of the Jewish people," Netanyahu said at Jerusalem's Western Wall. "And for that reason, we are strongly opposed to the agreement being formulated between the world powers and Iran that could endanger Israel's very existence."
Feinstein, who is Jewish, took issue with that characterization.
"He doesn't speak for me on this," the Democrat from California said, appearing on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday. "I think it's a rather arrogant statement. I think the Jewish community is like any other community. There are different points of view. I think that arrogance does not befit Israel, candidly."
Feinstein said she will attend the prime minister's forthcoming speech before Congress.
"I intend to go, and I'll listen respectfully," she said. "I don't intend to jump up and down."
Information for this article was contributed by Bradley Klapper of The Associated Press; by Helene Cooper and Michael R. Gordon of The New York Times; by Paul Richter of Tribune News Service; and by David Lerman and Ali Elkin of Bloomberg News.
A Section on 03/02/2015