Obama, Netanyahu Appeal to US Jews on Iran Deal

JERUSALEM, Israel -- President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are battling for the support of American Jews in the debate over the Iranian nuclear deal.

The president met privately with Jewish leaders at the White House Tuesday, reportedly telling them the deal is in the best national security interests of the United States and Israel.

But Netanyahu continues to disagree. In a live webcast, the Israeli prime minister told leaders of American Jewish organizations the agreement gives the Iranian regime billions of dollars in sanctions relief, while paving the way for Tehran to develop nuclear arsenals.

"I oppose this deal because I want to prevent war and this deal will bring war," Netanyahu said. "It will spark a nuclear arms race in the region and it would feed Iran's terrorism and aggression. That would make war, perhaps the more horrific war of all, far more likely."

Once the deal expires, ostensibly in a decade, he explains, Iran will be set to quickly build "an entire arsenal of nuclear weapons."

From Netanyahu's perspective, the U.S. administration has negotiated with the world's greatest sponsor of state terrorism, which not only calls for Israel's destruction, but also of the United States.

To accomplish that goal, the Iranian regime has been simultaneously developing nuclear military facilities and refining its intercontinental ballistic missiles that are capable of delivering a nuclear payload thousands of miles away.

Not only does the regime deny the Holocaust, it is taking concrete steps that could bring about another Holocaust.

For this reason, Netanyahu feels compelled to do everything in his power to prevent the present agreement from being realized.