ON JULY 14th, PRESIDENT OBAMA achieved perhaps his biggest diplomatic victory in brokering a nuclear deal with Iran. Predictably, reactions in Congress and by 2016 Presidential candidates were mixed. But perhaps more relevant are the reactions of advocacy groups and diplomatic allies, both for and against the accord.
POLITICO reports that Obama swiftly convened a conference call on Tuesday with prominent Jewish and pro-Israel advocacy groups in an attempt to contain the fallout from the nuclear deal. Per POLITICO, the message was clear: “chill out and read the agreement.” Of particular concern to the administration are Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the pro-Israel Jewish advocacy group AIPAC, both of whom are likely to criticize first and ask questions later.
As Vox notes, the Iran deal is a massive blow to Netanyahu, who has staked his political reputation, as well as his relationship with the United States, on preventing the deal from happening, at least in its current form. Netanyahu plans on lobbying Congress to kill the agreement, but he is almost certain to fail. AIPAC, similarly, is “deeply concerned” about the deal, According to the Washington Post. POLITICO reports that the group is already planning to mount a public awareness campaign. They will likely make a lobbying push as well. But other Jewish groups have praised the deal as an important step for stability in the region.
J Street, a left-leaning pro-Israeli group, lobbied in support of the deal leading up to the announced agreement on Tuesday. The group praised the deal, saying that it “meet[s] the critical criteria…that verifiably blocks each of Iran’s pathways to a nuclear weapon.” POLITICO notes that another group, the left-leaning New Security Action, also supported the deal, and it has launched a public relations campaign, including a Funny or Die Video, to support the agreement.
According to the Huffington Post, it seems a virtual certainty that Congressional opponents of the deal will be unable to override it, much to the chagrin of Benjamin Netanyahu and AIPAC, but with such powerful foes opposing it, nothing is truly certain. It’s a good bet that opponents of the deal will continue to fight it in favor of a harsher deal for Iran or scrapping the current deal altogether.
