(JTA) — Iran issued a rare reporting visa to the New York-based Jewish Daily Forward last month, the New York Times reported.

The Forward initially filed for the visa about two years ago with Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, which accredits foreign journalists, according to the Times report Thursday. The application was finally granted it on July 20.

The visa appeared to be part of an effort by Iran to influence the American Jewish community in favor of the nuclear deal between it and the world powers, reached on July 14, according to the report by the Times.

The Iranian ministry said the visa was for 30 days, but the Forward said it was only for seven, adding that its reporter, who remained unnamed, has already returned from Iran.

“The proposed deal with Iran is of huge importance to American Jews, and we sent a reporter to Iran so that we could provide our readers with an in-depth, objective look at what real Iranians think of the proposed deal, the United States and Israel,” the Forward’s editor in chief Jane Eisner said in a statement on Thursday, the Times reported.

“It has taken two years of negotiations with the Iranian government to win this opportunity, and we look forward to presenting this objective reporting on our website and in our paper next week,” Eisner said.

Congress is expected to vote on the Iran deal in September.

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