“Rapprochement with Iran won’t come at the expense of Israel’s security or its relationship with the United States, top Obama administration officials said Thursday, but they added that it would be “diplomatic malpractice” not to explore whether Iran’s nuclear program can be defused peacefully. The forceful defense of engagement made by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Secretary of State John F. Kerry during a visit here with their Japanese counterparts was the first high-level U.S. answer to a blistering rebuke delivered Tuesday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli leader warned that the West is being fooled by the new, friendlier face of Iranian leadership that is being offered by President Hassan Rouhani……………..”

My slightly eccentric but insightful source tells me that, privately, Kerry has added that: “It is enough that we get so much bullshit from the likes of Netanyahu and we have to take it all with a smile. Now we will not take the same type of BS from Rouhani”.
For his part, Hagel is reported to have mused: “Besides, how many lobbyists does Rouhani have in Washington, New York, and Hollywood?”

Cheers
mhg