The president of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has asked pro-Israel lobbyists and leaders in the US not to confront the Obama administration directly over the current interim deal with Iran.<\/p>\n
In a conference call last week, Howard Kohr said instead of confrontation, pressure groups should focus on influencing the contours of a final agreement with Tehran and imposing more economic sanctions, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.<\/p>\n
AIPAC has not commented on the call, which was first revealed December 3, in a Zionist Organization of America news release criticizing AIPAC’s approach.<\/p>\n
Kohr’s advice is in line with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent policy shift.<\/p>\n
The hawkish premier initially denounced the interim deal with Iran reached last month in Geneva as a “historic mistake.\u201d However, he has significantly downplayed his unhappiness with the deal and is focused instead on the outcome of the six-month period established to reach a final accord over Iran’s nuclear energy program.<\/p>\n
On November 24, Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council — the United States, Russia, France, China, and Britain — plus Germany sealed an agreement to lay the groundwork for the full resolution of the West’s decade-old nuclear dispute with Iran.<\/p>\n
In exchange for Iran’s confidence-building bid to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities, the United States and its allies have agreed to lift some of the existing sanctions against the country.<\/p>\n
However, some members of Congress, under the influence of pro-Israel lobbying groups like AIPAC, seek to put more economic pressure on Tehran by introducing new sanctions legislation.<\/p>\n
AHT\/HJ<\/p>\n