(CNN) - GOP presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Rick Perry came out swinging Wednesday with statements critical of President Obama's handling of the U.S. relationship with Israel, and his administration's policy toward Iran. The statements come a day after reports of an open mic picking up comments by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and President Obama about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In his statement, Romney says Obama is "disdainful of our special relationship with Israel."

In the aftermath of a U.N. report that documented Iran's progress toward making a nuclear weapon, Perry said Obama's policy on Iran "based on outreach and limited sanctions, has failed."