WASHINGTON — Addressing a prominent pro-Israel lobbying group, John McCain called Monday for tougher sanctions against Iran, as that country's controversial president issued another verbal broadside against the United States and Israel.
McCain, the presumed Republican presidential nominee, said new sanctions should restrict Tehran's ability to import refined gasoline and should rein in operations of the Central Bank of Iran. The senator from Arizona called on European nations to impose new travel restrictions on Iranian leaders and to freeze their assets, and backed an international divestment campaign targeting companies that do business in Iran.
Speaking before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, McCain offered one of the most detailed accounts to date of his Iran policy. He again attacked Sen. Barack Obama, the leading Democratic presidential contender, for willingness to meet with Iranian leaders.
The question of whether the U.S. president should negotiate with the Iranian leadership has grown into a sharp dispute in the presidential contest.
A summit with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would, McCain said, yield only "anti-Semitic rants and a worldwide audience for a man who denies the Holocaust."
"Such a spectacle would harm Iranian moderates and dissidents," he added, "as the radicals and hard-liners strengthen their position and suddenly acquire the appearance of respectability."
The Obama campaign shot back Monday. Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), speaking on behalf of the Obama campaign, said that McCain's Iran policy was going to be no different than that of President Bush.
"I think after looking at the last several years of complete disengagement, or an on-again, off-again focus on Iran, that a willingness to have some sort of direct engagement is a productive change in policy," Schiff said in a conference call.
Obama will make his own speech to AIPAC's annual conference on Wednesday. The Illinois senator is expected to outline his Middle East policy as well as voice support for Israel.
Although a small part of the overall national electorate, Jewish voters represent an important bloc of potential swing voters in several battleground states, most notably Florida. Both McCain and Obama have signaled that they intend to compete for the backing of Jewish voters.
Within Israel, the perceived threat from Iran has been intensified by anti-Semitic comments by Ahmadinejad. The Iranian president lashed out again Monday.
