After three weeks of discussions with top Obama adminitrsation officials, lawmakers and diplomats from Europea careful study of The American Jewish Committee (AJC), one of the main US Jewish groups, announced its opposition to the Iran deal and called on Members of US Congress to do the same.

In a statement, the group’s Executive Director, David Harris, said it was convinced the Iran deal, reached on July 14 between the world powers (US,Russia, China,UK,France plus Germany) and Iran, would not prevent the country from obtaining a nuclear weapon and that in fact it paved the way for Iran to become a nuclear threshold state “even if it never violated the deal.”

The announcement came a day after US President Barack Obama defended the nuclear deal in a White House meeting with US Jewish leaders, including David Harris.

Harris said the organization could not accept the nuclear deal because of the fundamental nature of the Iranian regime, and because it could trigger a nuclear and conventional arms race in the Middle East thus endangering U.S. interests and destabilizing the world’s most volatile region.

‘’Given the nature of the Iranian regime and its defining ideology, AJC cannot accept this prospect. It is too ominous, too precedent-setting, and too likely to trigger a response from Iran’s understandably anxious neighbors who may seek nuclear-weapons capacity themselves, as well as, more immediately and still more certainly, advanced conventional arms, adding an entirely new level of menace to the most volatile and arms-laden region in the world. Surely, this cannot be in America’s long-term security interests,’’ the statement said.

The group rejected the charge that the alternative to the Iran deal is war — a claim underscored by Obama when he compared the Iran deal to diplomacy that prevented the Cuban missile crisis from leading to an armed confrontation.

“We do not support war against Iran, nor have we ever advocated for the use of force, though we have always believed in a credible military option as a way of convincing Iran of our seriousness of purpose,” said Harris.

‘’Until recently, we were told by P5+1 negotiators: “The alternative to a bad deal is no deal.” What happened to that formulation, and why did it suddenly change?,’’ Harris asked.

“We understand that opposing this deal raises important questions about the future that no one can answer today with certainty, much as we believe that, faced with strong American leadership, Iran would find it in its own best interests to return to the negotiating table sooner or later. But we know with greater certainty that this deal raises still more ominous questions about the future.”

During a two-hour meeting with Jewish community leaders, President Obama reportedly warned that if US Congress shoots down the Iranian nuclear deal, the US will eventually be pressured into a military strike against Tehran’s nuclear facilities, which will in turn increase terror against Israel. “That means more support for terrorism, more Hezbollah rockets falling on Tel Aviv,” a participant quoted Obama as saying. “

In a bid to convince the US Jewish community to support the deal, Obama and Vice President Joe Biden hosted 20 Jewish leaders from across the political and religious spectrum at the White House’s Cabinet Room, hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged American Jews in a video address to fight the deal.

He warned that, if ratified, the nuclear deal would lead to war and a “nightmare” regional nuclear arms race.

“This deal will bring war,” he cautioned. “Iran can keep the deal or Iran can cheat on the deal,” Either way, it will have the bomb, Netanyahu said, before adding, “hundreds of bombs.” Furthermore, he said, addressing the audience, Iran has been building intercontinental ballistic missiles in order “to hit you,” not Israel.

The US Congress enjoys a 60-day review period of the agreement ahead of a crucial vote on a resolution of disapproval or approval in September.

J Street has been at the vanguard of advocacy efforts in favor of the deal, quickly announcing its support for the agreement and arguing that it presents the best opportunity for reining in Iran’s centrifuges.

The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) strongly praised Democratic Members of the Congress Steve Israel, Nita Lowey, Kathleen Rice, Ted Deutsch, Brad Sherman and Albio Sires (D-NJ for opposing the nuclear deal with Iran.

Steve Israel, a member of the Defense Subcommittee and one of the highest ranking Democrats in the House of Representatives and the highest ranking Jewish Democrat was an early skeptic of the deal. After having read the agreement's full text, Steve Israel said: ''Number one, the issue of the lifting of sanctions and the embargo on conventional arms and missiles. I don't know why we are doing that, and I do not want to empower Iran, make it easier for Iran to equip Hamas, Hezbollah and other bad actors. Number two the verification process. As I read the agreement, it seems to me that Iran actually has three weeks or more to decide whether they will allow the IAEA inspectors onto specific sites. That's a far cry from what I understood to be anywhere, anytime."