The previous president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, was a step down from a tyrant. He disregarded human rights, opposed Israel, Britain, and America, allegedly rigged an election, condemned homosexuality, and denied the Holocaust. So, many in the country breathed small sighs of relief when he left office in August and his successor, Hassan Rouhani, a moderate, was sworn in.

In the past few weeks, Rouhani has attempted multiple times to reach out to America. Recently, he spoke with President Obama on the telephone, the first direct communication between Iran and America’s leaders since the Islamic Revolution. So far, our president has seemed optimistic about new diplomatic relations with Iran, but our ally, Israel, and its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has repeatedly warned Obama not to make contact with Iran.

Iran has recently started to develop a nuclear program, and Ahmedinejad previously threatened building a nuclear bomb to drop in Israel. The nuclear facilities in Iran are deep underground, protected from standard air strikes – a fact that Israel finds deeply suspicious. Netanyahu has said Rouhani is even more dangerous than Ahmedinejad, because his predecessor was “a wolf in wolf’s clothing,” but he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Obama and Netanyahu clearly differ on Rouhani’s attempt at peace. Is this a genuine effort to restart relations with America or insurance for a nuclear bomb? I, as well as 6 million others in this country, am now faced with a dilemma. Being American Jews, faced with both political and religious responsibilities, with whom should we side?

Let’s look at this from Obama’s side first. Rouhani seems to be a more favorable president than Ahmedinejad, and Iran has been our enemy since the embassy hostage crisis 34 years ago. Rouhani is trying to make up for Iran’s previous far-right actions, and many in Iran have already praised Rouhani. They feel that Iran is going to be positively changed by his policies. Additionally, let’s not forget that Iran has oil, and if we lift their sanctions on them, we will be able to buy barrels and barrels, lowering gas prices and prolonging our gasoline depletion. From the American view, yes, we can make peace with Iran, finally.

For us Jews and the large fraction of the country that supports Israel, we must see the issue from an Israeli perspective. Israel is surrounded by several nations that do not side with Israel, itself. This is due to a number of factors including the nation’s majority religion and multiple wars that have occurred ever since the nation’s creation in 1948. Israelis are attacked by Palestinians and terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah on a daily basis. Ahmedinejad made no secret of the fact that he despised Israel, and constantly threatened to destroy them. Rouhani has never denied intentions to destroy Israel, and used to be the head of the nuclear program. Rouhani has never specified why Iran is developing a nuclear program and why it is abnormally protected. Rouhani may be trying to ally with America so they could not intervene in a conflict with Israel. But, for the sake of argument, let’s assume Rouhani’s intentions are as pure as a Disney princess.

Even so, when the Shah was overthrown in 1979, a theocracy was installed, with a cleric holding supreme leader. Today’s supreme leader of Iran is Ayatollah Ali Khameini, a notorious conservative who was even more extreme than Ahmedinejad, and has repeatedly criticized Rouhani’s peace efforts. So, at what point does Rouhani truly hold power? The bottom line: Khameini calls all the shots and the decisions on Iran’s nuclear program. If he decides to do so, he can overrule Rouhani and build a nuclear bomb and attack Israel, if he so chooses. He has not publicly made his intentions clear, unlike Ahmedinejad, but while Khameini lies in the shadows, he pulls all the strings, and it is his final decision.

I am sure many other American Jews like me have mixed feelings on this. I want to believe Iran. I want Iran to be our ally. But, at the same time, their nuclear program seems extremely questionable, and their hard-lining supreme leader shows all the signs of being willing to destroy Israel with a potential nuclear bomb. Since the threat is not 100% certain, I would recommend more diplomatic relations with Iran in the weeks to come, but with a wary eye. We must be a diplomatic country, but we must also remember to fear the Greeks, even carrying gifts.