White House applies presidential pressure on Iran skeptics in Congress

In recent days, the president has called leading supporters of new sanctions legislation, including Illinois Senator Mark Kirk, a Republican. Kirk’s office confirmed the phone call to BuzzFeed on Monday.

Democratic leaders in Congress are also under “an extraordinary amount of pressure” to back the White House on putting off sanctions, one congressional aide said, and President Obama and other senior administration officials have directly called some to make the administration’s case that increasing sanctions on Iran now will throw precarious nuclear negotiations into further doubt after a failure to reach a deal in the latest round in Geneva.

Democrats targeted include Sen. Chuck Schumer, who a Senate aide confirmed had spoken with Vice President Biden, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, and a number of cabinet officials.