Pro-Israel Christians to push Iran sanctions

By · July 17, 2007

More than 4,000 people at a conference of Christians United for Israel will lobby for a U.S. law aimed at isolating Iran.

Delegates from all 50 U.S. states will push the Iran Counter Proliferation Act, which reduces the president’s ability to waive existing sanctions against Iran and sanctions third-party countries and companies dealing with the Islamic Republic. The sanctions are aimed at forcing Iran to suspend its suspected nuclear weapons program.

Delegates, who will visit Congress on Wednesday after two days of briefings, also will lobby Congress for military assistance to Israel and to call attention to Hezbollah’s failure to abide by agreements to disarm after last year’s war against Israel.

Speakers at the group’s second national conference include the group’s founder, Pastor John Hagee, Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) and former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich, a probable candidate for the Republican nomination for the presidency.

Hagee said that while his group might not agree with Israel’s recent concessions to the Palestinians, it was not its place to oppose the concessions. “We are supportive of Israel, even if they make decisions that are contrary to what we believe are in their best interests,” he said.