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Congress torn between Europe, Israel on Iran

Lawmakers are forced to pick sides after key allies publicly come down on opposite sides of sanctions push.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, May 24, 2011. Netanyahu's vision for ending conflict with Palestinians put "more obstacles" in front of the Middle East peace process, the spokesman for the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said.  REUTERS/Molly Riley (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2MUAQ

US lawmakers face an uncomfortable choice between their European and Israeli allies now that both sides publicly disagree on whether to pass new Iran sanctions legislation.

Nuclear negotiating partners France, Britain and Germany for the first time jointly came out against new sanctions legislation in a Jan. 21 Washington Post op-ed. Meanwhile, the Israeli intelligence service Mossad issued a rare press statement the morning of Jan. 22 disputing a news report that it had warned US senators that sanctions legislation could "tank" diplomatic negotiations.

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