<text>  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 Netanyahus . 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 Israels 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 weve . got that, and weve got a way of verifying that, theres no . other steps we can take that would give us such assurance that . they dont have a nuclear weapon, he said. The U.S. goal is to make sure theres 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 Obamas 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 Netanyahus speech to Congress, saying the rift was not . personal and that he would meet the Israeli leader again if he . wins Israels 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 Obamas 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 weve . seen Iran not advance its program. In many ways, its 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 Irans 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 Israels . 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. 