… from Press TV, Tehran
[ Editors Note: Obama lays some tough love on the twenty Jewish organization leaders in the White House meeting. The quotes we have were from the attendees, and subject to being taken out of context, a trick at which the Lobby folks are long time experts.
That said, these changes in policy are often let out a bit at a time, and every word of the President will be carefully analyzed for signaling shifts in US policy toward Israel for trying to kill the Iran agreement.
Obama knows the Jewish community is split, and this will be made public to the NeoCons in Congress. It is an irony that there is more loyalty to America in the Jewish community than in the Republican Congress, which is solidly with Netanyahu for rolling the dice to use the US military to pound Iran down for them.
The quote of “Israel would bear the brunt of a US military strike”, has to be that of the case where, with no agreement and Iran’s proceeding with a weapons program, Obama is committed to preventing that. But the above quote is important for something that might not be evident to most.
The unsaid here is that Israel could not prevent a retaliation strike by Iran, and more… that the US also could not — or might choose not to protect Israel from it. If these quotes are accurate, I would have loved to have seen the faces of the attendees… Jim W. Dean ]
[ Update: Obama fired another salvo at the Iran-deal critics in a speech at the American University. The second article is below the first. “By killing this deal, Congress would not only pave Iran’s pathway to a bomb, it would accelerate it,” he said. ]
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– First published … August 05, 2015 –
President Barack Obama has reportedly warned American Jewish leaders that Tel Aviv would be possibly struck by rockets in case of a US military strike against Iran, urging them not to sabotage the nuclear agreement.
“Israel would bear the brunt of a US military strike” against Iran, Obama told leaders of major Jewish organizations in the US, who were present at a meeting in the White House on Tuesday.
The meeting was part of an effort by the Obama administration to gain support for the agreement reached between Iran and the P5+1 group — the United States, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany – in the Austrian capital of Vienna on July 14.
The chairman of the National Jewish Democratic Council, Greg Rosenbaum, who was one of 20 leaders who met with Obama, told Israel Radio on Wednesday that the president warned them rockets would possibly fall on Tel Aviv if a nuclear agreement with Iran was blocked.
“He [Obama] said military action by the United States against Iran’s nuclear facilities is not going to result in Iran deciding to have a full-fledged war with the United States,” Rosenbaum quoted Obama as saying in the meeting.
Despite criticisms, President Obama has repeatedly insisted that diplomacy works better than military action regarding Iran’s nuclear program.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has strongly opposed the July 14 agreement.
On Tuesday, Netanyahu tried to convince the leaders of the Jewish community that the nuclear agreement “paves Iran’s path to the bomb.”
“This is a time to stand up and be counted. Oppose this dangerous deal,” Netanyahu said in a webcast organized by Jewish groups in North America.
“I don’t oppose this deal because I want war. I oppose this deal because I want to prevent war. And this deal will bring war. It’ll spark a nuclear arms race in the region and it will feed Iran’s terrorism and aggression,” he added.
Rosenbaum further said that the Jewish community is at “almost a fratricide” over the issue.
“No policy has threatened to tear the American Jewish community apart as much as the Iran deal,” he said.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the biggest Israeli lobby group in the US, is deploying hundreds of lobbyists on Capitol Hill to try to convince lawmakers to vote against the agreement. Congress will vote on the accord in September.
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President Obama blasts Iran nuclear agreement critics
…from Press TV
US President Barack Obama has blasted those who are still speaking against the conclusion of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the world powers.
“Many of the same people who argued for the war in Iraq are now making the case against the Iran nuclear deal,” he said on Wednesday.
“More than a decade later, we still live with the consequences of the decision to invade Iraq,” Obama added.
He criticized his opponents during a speech at American University.
“Those who call for a ‘better deal’ are ignorant of the Iranian society or just not being straight with the American people,” he said. “Let’s not mince words: the choice we face is ultimately between diplomacy or some form of war.”
Obama also called on Congress not to block the agreement as American lawmakers are set to vote on it next month.
“By killing this deal, Congress would not only pave Iran’s pathway to a bomb, it would accelerate it,” he said.
In a meeting with American Jewish leaders on Tuesday, the US president also warned about the consequences of the failure of the nuclear accord.
Obama reportedly told the Jewish leaders that Tel Aviv would be possibly struck by rockets in case of a US military strike against Iran. He was referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is in favor of military option.
“Israel would bear the brunt of a US military strike” against Iran, he said.
Iran and the P5+1 group — the United States, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany – reached a conclusion on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in the Austrian capital of Vienna on July 14.
According to the text of the agreement, Iran will be recognized by the United Nations as a nuclear power and will continue its uranium enrichment program.
Iran sanctions are set to be removed in exchange for some limitations on the country’s nuclear energy program.
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Jim W. Dean was an active editor on VT from 2010-2022. He was involved in operations, development, and writing, plus an active schedule of TV and radio interviews.
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