Speaking today to members of the VFW, President Obama criticized Republican opponents of the Iran nuclear deal, saying they echo the mind-set of hawks that led the US into a major war in Iraq last decade, and saying diplomacy was a more responsible solution.

Virtually the whole Republican leadership in Congress is opposed to the pact, and awash in lobbying from Israeli groups, they intend to try to get a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress to try to block the deal outright.

The White House has warned that if Congress does manage to do this, the US sanctions regime will be almost impossible to get back in place, as US credibility will suffer enormously from them agreeing to and then disavowing the nuclear deal. They have also warned blocking the deal would increase the chances of war.

While it is unlikely Congress can must the two-thirds majority, raising the chances of war with Iran seems very much the point for many hawks, who see a US war against Iran, on Israel’s behalf, as an end unto itself.