Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — The administration of President Barack Obama has pressed Israel to end opposition to a U.S. reconciliation effort with Iran.

Administration sources said Obama has urged both Israel and American Jewish leaders to support his reconciliation drive toward Teheran.

On Oct. 29, the White House briefed Jewish and pro-Israeli groups regarding the latest negotiations with Iran.

In a tense one-hour meeting, the groups, which included the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, were assured that Obama would not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon.They said the White House and State Department have been meeting with Israeli and American Jewish leaders to end their lobbying in Congress for additional sanctions on Iran.

“We asked for a pause, to provide flexibility, of new sanctions,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. “We believe that congressional action needs to be aligned with our negotiating strategy.”

The sources said the White House, preparing for another round of nuclear
talks on Nov. 7, was concerned that new sanctions on Iran would hamper if
not end the U.S. reconciliation effort toward Teheran. They said Obama and
his aides were urging Israelis and American Jews to abandon sanctions for at
least another few months.

The Senate, following House approval, was expected to vote imminently on another round of sanctions on Iran. The proposal would seek a reduction of Iran’s current oil exports to no more than 500,000 barrels per day, or about half of the current level.

“This is not the time to loosen sanctions,” Senate Foreign Relations
Committee chairman Sen. Robert Menendez told AIPAC on Oct. 28. “We can’t
want a deal more than the Iranians, and we can’t be so anxious for a deal
that we weaken our hand at a moment when we hold the best cards.”

A similar message has been relayed by the administration to Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. On Oct. 28, Obama telephoned Netanyahu to
discuss the nuclear negotiations with Iran, and the president urged the
prime minister to avoid any action that would threaten the international
effort.

“The two leaders agreed to continue their close coordination on a range
of security issues,” the White House said.

A day later, Secretary of State John Kerry increased the pressure on
Israel. Kerry warned that the United States would not suspend its
reconciliation effort toward Iran despite what he termed the use of fear
tactics.

“I suggest that the idea that the United States of America, as a
responsible nation to all of humankind, would not explore that possibility
would be the height of irresponsibility and dangerous in itself,” Kerry said. “And we will not succumb to those fear tactics and forces that suggest otherwise.”

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