iran deal

August 1, 2015

While the nuclear accord will not change Iran immediately, it will allow for incremental changes in the country. It opens opportunities for greater people-to-people exchanges between Iran and the United States. Ultimately Iran’s gradual opening will allow what the Iranian regime fears the most; the loss of the United States as an enemy and its emergence as a source of inspiration. 

Netanyahu will be reaching out to the American Jewish community in a live webcast next Tuesday, reports said, addressing the agreement and its implications for Israel, the Middle East and the world. A question and answer period will follow his remarks, according to an email invitation.

Morgan Freeman, Jack Black and a host of other celebrities star in a video backing Americas' nuclear deal with Iran, wise-cracking their way through an often surreal mixture of Hollywood, politics and diplomacy.

Opposition to the deal based on issues unrelated to the nuclear program is not new, nor is the “white savior complex” exhibited by many in the U.S. government when it comes to human rights in other parts of the world. 

Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday that the nuclear accord he negotiated with Iran was in Israel’s interest and that the Israeli government’s decision to oppose it could further its isolation. “I fear that what could happen is if Congress were to overturn it, our friends in Israel could actually wind up being more isolated and more blamed,” Mr. Kerry said in an appearance at the Council on Foreign Relations.

While Netanyahu enjoys wide support among Israelis for his stand against Iran, his political opponents have criticized the prime minister for defiantly maintaining his staunch opposition to the agreement in a manner that they warn could result in Israel’s further isolation from its allies.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with a six-member bipartisan US Congressional delegation on Monday, including Rep. Karen Bass (D-California) who was among 58 members of Congress who skipped his controversial speech to Congress in March. One government official said that while the speech in Congress did come up during the meeting, the main focus was on the Iranian nuclear negotiations. Netanyahu is continuing to be outspoken in his opposition to the Iran deal

In his weekly address on Saturday, US President Barack Obama began his campaign to assure Americans and sway skeptics that the framework for a nuclear pact with Iran was a "good deal." A day after Obama called top lawmakers to urge support for the agreement, he pressed his case that Iran would not be able to build nuclear bombs.

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