John Boehner. Photo: Joe Bongo.

JNS.org – U.S. Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) has invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress next month about the Iranian threat.

“In this time of challenge, I am asking the prime minister [of Israel] to address Congress on the grave threats radical Islam and Iran pose to our security and way of life,” Boehner said in a statement on Wednesday morning.

“America and Israel have always stood together in shared cause and common ideals, and now we must rise to the moment again. Let’s send a clear message to the White House—and the world—about our commitment to Israel and our allies,” Boehner said.

In his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, President Barack Obama vowed to veto “any new sanctions bill that threatens to undo” the “progress” of ongoing nuclear talks between Iran and Western powers.

The Obama veto threat comes as Sens. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) are moving quickly to bring a new Iran sanctions bill, titled Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2015, to the Senate floor for a vote.

The new Menendez-Kirk bill expands on existing sanctions on Iran’s financial and energy sections, and would kick in if Iran and world powers fail to reach an agreement by the end of June.