Obama Continues Efforts to Garner Support for Nuclear Agreement with Iran

As opponents of the nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers, including a group of U.S. Congress representatives and the Prime Minister of Israel, intensify their activities against this agreement, the President of the United States is preparing for a speech in its defense. Barack Obama will visit the prestigious 'American' University in Washington on Wednesday, August 5, to speak about the agreement as the political battle over its rejection or approval in the U.S. escalates. The Wall Street Journal quotes a White House official stating that in this speech, Mr. Obama will emphasize that those who supported the war in Iraq are opposed to the diplomatic process with Iran, and that it would be a historic mistake to miss this opportunity; otherwise, restrictions against Iran's nuclear program will be lifted, the sanctions mechanism will collapse, and America's credibility will be damaged. The invasion of Iraq in 2003, although initially supported by public opinion (Gallup poll 2003: 79% support), saw that support wane in the months following, and by 2005, majority opposition began to appear in recorded statistics. The speech on Wednesday comes a day after Ed Royce, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, introduced a plan to reject the nuclear agreement, and the Senate Majority Leader in the U.S. has also predicted that Congress will vote against the agreement. If this happens, Barack Obama can use his veto power - and if Congress representatives cannot gather two-thirds of the votes against this veto - ultimately pass it. The New York Times reports that while intense negotiations and extensive television propaganda against the agreement with Iran continue from opponents, led by the 'AIPAC' pro-Israel lobby, the President and senior officials of the U.S. government are pressuring Democratic representatives to express their public support before leaving Washington and meeting with voters. The President of the United States also met with representatives of Jewish organizations in the country on Tuesday as part of the government's efforts to defend the agreement with Iran. This meeting occurs at a time when the Prime Minister of Israel, in an online conversation with thousands of American Jewish citizens, urged them to work to prevent the final approval of the agreement. However, in Israel itself, Netanyahu's efforts do not face unanimous support. Recently, a group of former security officials in that country has urged Netanyahu to 'accept reality' and cease opposing the agreement.