P ressTV... Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to speak in Congress on Tuesday.
The US Republican Party is backing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s anti-Iran speech in Congress in order to win the support of American Jews, a political analyst says.
“In many ways, the Republicans are trying to win the Jewish vote and Jewish backing,” Joshua Landis, associate professor and director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, told Press TV on Sunday.
Landis made the remarks while commenting on a speech by Senator Lindsey Graham at the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference on Sunday.
During his speech, Graham threatened to derail nuclear negotiations between Iran and P5+1 countries -- the United States, Britain, France, China, and Russia -- plus Germany.
“The effort on the part of Lindsey Graham and the Republicans is to convince American Jews that they are the true defenders of Israel and interests of American Jews in the United States to win both their votes, and their money, and political support for their party,” Landis said.
The analyst added that President Barack Obama’s move to negotiate with Iran is “being painted by Netanyahu as a failure” and Obama is “endangering not only Israel but of course the world.”
“Does Graham have the power to stop this?” he asked. “Congress has a lot of power on this issue because as you know many of the sanctions against Iran have been brought by Congress and now the Republicans are the dominant party in Congress. They can try to impose new sanctions.”
Late last year, the White House said the president would veto any legislation that would allow Congress to impose additional sanctions on Iran.
White House press secretary Jay Carney said passing new sanctions legislation will undermine efforts “to achieve a peaceful resolution.”
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