Israel Denies Netanyahu Pushed for Romney Victory

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remained neutral during the U.S. presidential election, the country’s ambassador to Washington has insisted.

Netanyahu did not favor his old friend Mitt Romney over President Barack Obama despite the often-frosty relationship the two leaders have shared, said Michael Oren, Politico reports.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu went to extraordinary lengths not to be dragged into the U.S. political elections,” Oren said. “There was no attempt to interfere in the American political process.”

Alert: Will Raising Taxes Help or Hurt America? Vote Here!

Oren was speaking at an event hosted by the Christian Science Monitor and marked his first “extended public comments” on reports that Netanyahu was pushing for a Romney victory, said Politico.

“One of the great challenges we faced was that everything in this country was seen through the prism of elections,” Oren said. “Everything in Israel was seen through the prism of an Iranian nuclear threat.”

Oren said every time Israel talked about Iran, it was misinterpreted “as an explicit attempt to interfere in American political process.”