President Obama is defending his support for ally Israel against what he says are politically-motivated attempts to show him as less than fully supportive of the Jewish state, but he is also preparing to raise unpopular topics on Sunday to Israel's biggest defenders in the U.S.
The president will be speaking Sunday to the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee. On Monday, he also receives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.
Obama says he has backed Israel without hesitation through three years in office, despite some differences over policy. He told a magazine interviewer last week that his political rivals ignore that record.
The president also said he doesn't "bluff" when it comes to saying all options are on the table with respect to ending Iran's nuclear program.
The U.S. and Israel are currently at odds over what to do about Iran's disputed nuclear program, with many in Israel supporting a preemptive strike.
The White House is urging caution. On Friday, presidential spokesman Jay Carney said that there is a "staged process" to getting Iran to step away from any nuclear weapons program, but Tehran doesn't have the weapons yet.
"We know there is time and space to continue to pursue a diplomatic path, with sanctions and diplomatic pressure, is because we have visibility into Iran's nuclear program. We have IAEA inspectors on the ground. And we know that they have not, you know, made that breakout move towards acquiring nuclear weapons," he said.
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