Critics, including every major Republican presidential candidate, say Iran cannot be trusted and that the economic benefits of the deal will only strengthen Iran's ability to threaten Israel and foment extremism throughout the Middle East. Obama made a special appeal to the Jewish community Tuesday, meeting at the White House with about two-dozen leaders of Jewish groups that span the religious and ideological spectrum, including the conservative American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the liberal J Street, and leaders of reform and orthodox congregations. I’ve had to make a lot of tough calls as president, but whether or not this deal is good for American security is not one of those calls. “There’s no denying that there is intense political pressure on both sides of this agreement,” he continued, adding that officials were hoping that lawmakers would “focus on the specific terms of the agreement.” 
 
 The effort gained some momentum Tuesday as three closely watched Democratic senators — Barbara Boxer of California, Tim Kaine of Virginia and Bill Nelson of Florida — declared their backing, along with a handful of House Democrats. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell issued a statement calling the comment “bizarre” and “offensive,” and said it “goes way over the line of civil discourse.” 
 
 The assault on critics of the Iran deal book-ended a speech that mainly reiterated Obama’s previous arguments on behalf of the agreement, under which Iran will accept limits on its nuclear program for 10 to 15 years, and in some areas longer, in return for an end to economic sanctions. Never.” 
 
 In a statement, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce noted that, in Senate testimony last week, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey said the U.S. military had “a range of options” for confronting Iran short of war. “That’s one of those straw men that demeans the debate.” 
 
 The heart of Obama’s address sought to hammer home the administration’s views that the alternative to the deal is conflict. White House aides said Obama would "point out that the same people who supported war in Iraq are opposing diplomacy with Iran, and that it would be an historic mistake to squander this opportunity" to contain Iran's nuclear program. If Congress votes for a bill rejecting the deal, Obama has promised to veto it, setting up the key showdown over whether opponents could muster enough votes to secure an override.
– President Obama today began his campaign to convince Congress to back his Iran nuclear deal with a major speech in which he characterized the upcoming vote as one about war or peace. If the deal falls through, opponents can expect a likely outcome, he said at American University: “Another war in the Middle East.” Obama added that “I am not saying this to be provocative,” reports the Washington Post. “I am stating a fact ... the choice we have is some kind of war, maybe not tomorrow, maybe not in three months, but soon.” In the speech, Obama also drew a parallel with the vote to authorize the Iraq war. “Many of the same people who made the case for war with Iraq” oppose the Iran deal, he said. They need to “worry less about being labeled weak [and] worry more about getting it right," because that war "did more to strengthen Iran and more to isolate the United States than anything we have done in the decade since," reports Politico. The Iraq message seems to be aimed at Democrats who voted in favor of the war and now regret it, because Obama will need their votes to sustain any veto, reports USA Today. The speech kicks off "a campaign of private entreaties and public advocacy over the next several weeks" to win approval of the deal, notes the New York Times.