The ongoing diplomatic crisis between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama has brought relations between the two countries to a new low. In the latest development, Netanyahu has declined to meet with the U.S. Senate Democrats during his trip to the U.S. where he will address a special joint meeting of Congress concerning Iran's nuclear program on March 3. His visit comes less than two weeks prior to the elections that will be held in Israel on March 17."Though I greatly appreciate your kind invitation to meet with Democratic Senators, I believe that doing so at this time could compound the misperception of partisanship regarding my upcoming visit," Netanyahu said in a statement sent to Senators Richard Durbin and Dianne Feinstein, Reuters reported on Feb. 24.Similarly, Obama and the Vice President Joe Biden declined to attend the controversial Congress speech on March 3, of which the White House had not been told, and harshly criticized Netanyahu for placing his politics before the relations between the U.S. and Israel. Netanyahu's invitation to Congress by the House Speaker John Boehner was also perceived as a breach of the traditional diplomatic protocol by the Obama administration.Netanyahu and Obama's conflicting stance on Iran's nuclear program has also been firing tensions between the two countries, adding to the ongoing diplomatic confrontations between Netanyahu and Obama. The U.S. administration's attempt to resolve the nuclear issue through diplomatic talks faces opposition from Netanyahu as he pushes for a hardline stance that aims to attack Iran militarily. Netanyahu's stance finds support from Senate Republicans, but Democrats align with Obama.Netanyahu argues that Iran's nuclear program is a threat to Israel's sovereignty, whereas Iran argues its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and aims to reach a solution through diplomatic negotiations.Furthermore, Netanyahu has accused U.N. Security Council members of giving up on preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons in the negotiation talks, and has made it clear that he finds this unacceptable."From the agreement that is forming it appears that they have given up on that commitment and are accepting that Iran will gradually, within a few years, develop capabilities to produce material for many nuclear weapons," Netanyahu said, according to Associated Press on Feb. 25.On the other hand, a new cable by Al-Jazeera's Investigative Unit has revealed that Netanyahu's insistence on escalating a crisis over Iran's nuclear program has also been criticized by Israel's national intelligence agency, Mossad. Iran's activity in its nuclear program was not sufficient enough to produce a weapon, in the opinion of Mossad, according to leaks published by Al-Jazeera on March 23. A difference of opinion between Mossad's assessment of Iran's nuclear program and Netanyahu's presentation at the U.N. in 2012, in which he argued that Iran was 30 percent away from building a nuclear weapon, was evident from the leak.The leaked documents put Netanyahu on shaky ground before the Israeli elections on March 17. This comes at a time of escalating tensions with the U.S. as a result of his foreign policy, and embroilment in controversial family scandals, involving his family spending and the "Bottlegate" scandal involving his wife, Sara Netanyahu.