U.S. President Barack Obama . said on Monday that Iran should commit to a verifiable freeze of . at least 10 years on its nuclear activity for a landmark atomic . deal to be reached , but said the odds were still against sealing . a final agreement . In an interview with Reuters at the White House , Obama said . that a rift over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's . planned speech to Congress opposing the Iran deal on Tuesday was . a distraction that would not be 'permanently destructive ' to . U.S. Israeli ties . But he said there was a 'substantial disagreement ' between . his administration and the Israeli government over how to . achieve their shared goal of preventing Iran from acquiring . nuclear weapons . Scroll down for video . U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during an interview in the Library of the White House in Washington Monday . He said Iran must halt their nuclear work . Earlier on Monday in a speech on Monday to the American Israel Public AffairsCommittee ( AIPAC ) Netanyahu warned that a nuclear deal could threaten Israel 's survival . 'If , in fact , Iran is willing to agree to double-digit years . of keeping their program where it is right now and , in fact , . rolling back elements of it that currently exist ... if we 've . got that , and we 've got a way of verifying that , there 's no . other steps we can take that would give us such assurance that . they do n't have a nuclear weapon , ' he said . The U.S. goal is to make sure 'there 's at least a year . between us seeing them try to get a nuclear weapon and them . actually being able to obtain one , ' Obama said . Israel fears that Obama 's Iran diplomacy , with an . end-of-March deadline for a framework nuclear agreement , will . still allow its arch-foe to develop an atom bomb . Tehran denies . it is seeking nuclear weapons . Netanyahu has spoken scathingly about a possible deal , . saying negotiators appear to have given up on a pledge to . prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons . He says a. nuclear-armed Iran would pose an existential threat to the . Jewish state . Obama sought to downplay the long-term damage from the row . over Netanyahu 's speech to Congress , saying the rift was not . personal and that he would meet the Israeli leader again if he . wins Israel 's March 17 election . 'This is not a personal issue . I think that it is important . for every country in its relationship with the United States to . recognize that the U.S. has a process of making policy , ' Obama . said . But Obama said Netanyahu had been wrong before with his . opposition to a 2013 interim deal with Iran . Israel fears that Obama 's Iran diplomacy , with an end-of-March deadline for a framework nuclear agreement , will still allow its arch-foe to develop an atom bomb . 'Netanyahu made all sorts of claims . This was going to be a. terrible deal . This was going to result in Iran getting 50. billion dollars worth of relief . Iran would not abide by the . agreement . None of that has come true . 'It has turned out that in fact , during this period we 've . seen Iran not advance its program . In many ways , it 's rolled . back elements of its program . ' The White House last week denied a report that the United . States and Iran were exploring a possible 10-year deal that . would initially freeze Iran 's nuclear program but gradually . allow it to increase activities that could enable it to produce . nuclear arms in the last years of the agreement . In a speech on Monday to the American Israel Public Affairs . Committee ( AIPAC ) , the largest U.S. pro-Israel lobby , Netanyahu . again warned that a nuclear deal could threaten Israel 's . survival while insisting the U.S.-Israeli relationship was . 'stronger than ever . ' Asked about the prospects for a final deal with Iran , which . has a June 30 deadline , Obama said that a key doubt was whether . Iran would agree to rigorous inspection demands and the low . levels of uranium enrichment capability they would have to . maintain . 'But if they do agree to it , it would be far more effective . in controlling their nuclear program than any military action we . could take , any military action Israel could take and far more . effective than sanctions will be , ' Obama said . A comprehensive nuclear deal is seen as crucial to reducing . the risk of a wider Middle East war , at a time when Iran is . deeply involved in conflicts in Syria and Iraq .
The President gave an interview to Reuters on Monday . Obama said that a rift over Netanyahu 's speech to Congress opposing the Iran deal on Tuesday was a distraction . Obama said there is 'substantial disagreement ' between his administration and Israeli government over preventing Iran from getting a nuke . The President also told Reuters Monday that Netanyahu had been wrong before with his opposition to a 2013 interim deal with Iran .