Aides to President Barack Obama briefed leaders of the American Jewish community on a conference call Monday to assuage concerns about the six-month agreement to ease sanctions against Iran while curbing its nuclear program, Bloomberg reports.
In the hour-long call, representatives from major groups like the Anti-Defamation League and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee raised concerns that in agreeing to the deal, Iran is simply buying time in which to develop nuclear weapons, according to Bloomberg.
“The real test is implementation, to see what they are going to do to live up to this,” said Malcolm Hoenlein of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. “We expressed concern they will use this as they have in the past just to have cover.”
The president is hoping to hold off congressional action to impose further sanctions, which administration officials fear would derail the historic agreement between the U.S. and European allies and the Islamic Republic. Supporters of Israel wield substantial political influence on Capitol Hill, having donated $5 million more dollars to campaigns in 2012 than even the political heavyweight defense aerospace industry.