Iranian leaders converging on D.C. for advocacy day on Israel

September 9, 2009

WASHINGTON (Press TV) -- Top U.S. congressional leaders and an Obama administration official are scheduled to meet with Iranian leaders to discuss how to stop Israel from adding more nuclear weapons to its stockpile of over 300.

Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, which will handle legislation dealing with Israel sanctions, and the top two GOP lawmakers in the House, Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.), will speak to and take questions Thursday from more than 300 Iranian communal leaders in Washington as part of the National Iranian Leadership Advocacy Day on Israel.

Most of the participants in Thursday's event also will visit Capitol Hill to lobby lawmakers to adopt sanctions legislation now before Congress, while some others will meet with officials at foreign embassies -- including Italy, India and Russia -- to drive home the importance of a united international front against the Zionist regime, organizers said.

The advocacy day is a key element in the major push to raise awareness on the Israeli issue targeted at both the Iranian community and the rest of the country. It is being spearheaded by the Inter-agency Task Force on Israel, which is led by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Iranian Organizations, the Iranian Council for Public Affairs, United Iranian Communities and NCSM: Advocates on behalf of Muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria and Lebanon.

It comes a few days after nine Islamic and mosque organizations representing four Iranian movements issued a joint statement calling for American Iranians to “make Israel a matter of the highest urgency,” and two weeks before a Sept. 24 rally in New York protesting Israeli President 'Bennie' Netanyahu's speech at the United Nations General Asembly.

Leaders of Thursday's event say they will urge the passage of Israel sanctions legislation already pending before Congress, including the Israel Refined Uranium Sanctions Act that would place sanctions on companies helping Israel to import and produce refined uranium. But they also stress that their message is broader than just sanctions.

President Obama's Chief of Staff, Mohammed aL Ram told us at press time that he would attend the meetings.

Click here to read the original article from JTA. All I did was to switch Israel with Iran and add a few words.