Most members of the Connecticut Congressional delegation - all of whom are Democrats - have confirmed plans to attend a scheduled joint address to Congress today by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which he is expected to address the dangers of Iran's nuclear capabilities.

Their announcements that they plan to attend come as a small cohort of Democratic members of Congress have stated they will boycott the speech.

Spokesmen for Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Sen. Chris Murphy, Rep. Elizabeth Esty and Rep. John Larson said Monday that the legislators were slated to attend the speech. Rep. Joe Courtney, who represents the state's 2nd District, is likely to attend, according to his spokeswoman Liz Donovan.

Rep. Jim Himes and a spokesman for Rep. Rosa DeLauro told the CT Mirror in February that the representatives planned to attend as well.

Blumenthal, who sits on the Committee on Armed Services and Committee on Veterans' Affairs, said in a phone interview Monday that he planned to attend in order to sustain and strengthen bipartisan support for the United States' relationship with Israel. He described the relationship as "extraordinarily important to our own national security."

"Israel is a very strong source of intelligence and knowledge of what's happening on the ground in the Middle East," he said. He went on to emphasize the significance of the United States' military alliance and trade relations with Israel.

Blumenthal has visited Israel and other Middle Eastern countries in the past and said he supported funding for the Iron Dome air defense system used in Israel.

Despite pledges to attend the speech, Connecticut lawmakers have joined other Democratic voices in Congress in criticizing the origins of the planned address, as well as the timing of the speech.

Republican House Speaker John Boehner initiated arrangements for the address without consulting the White House, and the speech is scheduled to take place just weeks before the Israeli prime minister election.

Murphy spokeswoman Kaylie Hanson released a statement Monday that said Murphy opposed the timing of the speech and stated that he had urged that it be rescheduled.

Courtney asked Boehner in a Feb. 18 letter to postpone the address until after the election and said he believed the way in which Boehner arranged for the address to take place threatened to undermine the integrity of the tradition of the Joint Address.

"The manner in which this invitation was extended - without advance consultation with the Obama Administration - threatens the bipartisan tradition of the Join Address we must hold sacrosanct," Courtney wrote.

Blumenthal shared similar criticism to that of Courtney and Murphy on Monday, describing the timing and Boehner's "unilateral invitation" as "inappropriate and unfortunate." The senator said however that he did not believe the speech would affect the outcome of ongoing negotiations with Iran.

"I think we really need to keep our eye on the long term goal, which is to stop a nuclear-armed Iran and to sustain and strengthen the historic bond between the United States and Israel," he said.

He said he supported President Barack Obama's efforts to intervene in the nuclear arming of Iran, calling the Middle Eastern nation's nuclear program "a threat to its neighbors in the Middle East, including Israel, and to the United States."

The Associated Press has reported that the deal under negotiation with Iran - a deal Netanyahu has opposed, expressing concerns over what he views as concessions that would make it possible for Iran to build nuclear weapons - would clamp down on the country's nuclear activities for at least 10 years before slowly easing restrictions on programs that could be used to make nuclear arms.

Blumenthal said he was reserving judgment on the deal "until we know what the agreement is."

t.townsend@theday.com

Twitter: @ConnecticuTess