US senator under pressure by Israeli groups over Iran agreement
Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer has come under intense pressure by Israeli groups in the United States to vote against the conclusion of Iran nuclear negotiations in Congress.
More than 10,000 phone calls, organized by one group, flooded the office line of the New York senator during the past two weeks to urge him to kill the accord, POLITICO reported.
Congress will vote in September on the agreement reached between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries -- the US, Britain, France, Russia, China, and Germany – in the Austrian capital, Vienna, on July 14.
Democratic support has a significant role in the September vote because most Republicans are against the agreement.
According to the newspaper, those who have spoken with Schumer say the pressure campaign is having an effect. They believe that there is a growing sense inside and outside the Capitol that Schumer will vote against the agreement.
Schumer, however, said he has not decided yet, adding that he would decide based on the merits of the agreement, not lobbying from either side.
“I haven’t made up my mind,” he told POLITICO. “There are expectations all over the lot. I’m doing what I’m always doing when I have a very difficult decision: Learning it carefully and giving it my best shot, doing what I think is right. I’m not going to let pressure or politics or party get in the way of that.”
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.
But some restrictions will be placed on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the removal of sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee has raised more than $20 million which is being spent on television ads and other means of lobbying against the agreement. Along with some other pro-Israel advocacy groups, it is spending millions of dollars to fund a national television advertising campaign to inform the public “about the dangers of the proposed Iran deal.”
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