While the Obama administration may have hoped that Jewish groups would agree not to lobby Congress for tougher sanctions on Iran, and has applied pressure to that effect, Christian pro-Israel groups have refused to play along with the White House’s attempt to reward Iran for its latest gestures at diplomacy.
Christians United for Israel (CUFI), the nation’s largest pro-Israel organization–dwarfing the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)–said on Friday that it would continue lobbying for new sanctions, and that Congress would “pay a price” if Iran became a nuclear power, Alana Goodman of the Washington Free Beacon reports.
While the Obama administration has sought to delay new sanctions and even lift existing ones to reward Iran for its recent “moderate” posture, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that the Iranian regime has no intention of giving up its nuclear enrichment and will use future talks as a cover for continued progress towards a nuclear weapon.