DHAKA: Israel is actively lobbying the US Congress to pass new sanctions legislation against Iran despite objections from the Obama administration, with Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett making the prime minister’s case in both chambers on Capitol Hill.

“We’re bringing information and our point of view to the Hill and to the legislators,” Bennett told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday. “What we’re learning is there’s a shared goal, if perhaps a difference in the tactics.”

Bennett’s visit has complicated efforts by US Secretary of State John Kerry over recent days to delay new sanctions, which the Senate Banking Committee is considering just a week before a third round of negotiations in Geneva between world powers and Iran.

Sources on Capitol Hill told the Post that Kerry voiced concerns over Bennett’s lobbying effort in a closed-door briefing with key senators on Wednesday afternoon.

Source: JP
BDST: 1107 HRS, NOV 15, 2013
GR/GCP