President Obama met with British Prime Minister David Cameron on Friday to discuss Britain’s opposition to proposed Congressional action that would impose additional sanctions against Iran, but growing concerns about recent violence in Europe shifted the focus of the leaders’ attention. The meeting in Washington comes in the wake of terror attacks against the offices of the French satirical newspaper, Charlie Hebdo, and a kosher delicatessen on Jan. 7 that left 17 dead, including the shooters. French authorities have arrested several suspected accomplices in those attacks, but believe still more are in hiding. On Thursday, police launched a pre-emptive raid on a sleeper cell in the Belgian city of Verviers, acting to prevent an attack on police stations and officers. The terror attacks and counter-terrorism operations became the primary subject of questions at Thursday night’s joint press conference by Cameron and Obama.

Responses to the press revealed stark differences in the way the two leaders perceive and approach the terror threat, as Cameron referred to “a poisonous radical death cult… that is corrupting the Islam religion,”and “…a very serious Islamist terrorist threat,” while Obama continued his longstanding policy of not specifically tying Islam to terrorism. Conceding that the Obama administration actively and “purposefully” avoids the use of the the term “radical Islam,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said terrorists “invoke their own distorted deviant view of Islam to justify their acts.”

Cameron confirmed BBC reports that Britain and the U.S. have agreed to conduct joint “war games,” setting the two countries against each other in cyber attacks. The Prime Minister’s office at 10 Downing Street in London announced that the first exercises will target the banking sector, specifically the Bank of England and commercial banks, and will be followed by “further exercises to test critical national infrastructure.”

The White House also announced that President Obama will host a security summit on Feb. 18 bringing together world leaders to discuss ways to prevent future attacks by extremists. The meeting was originally scheduled for last October, but was shelved without explanation prior to the mid-term elections in early November. The “Summit on Countering Violent Extremism,” will concentrate on addressing the issue of domestic terror through reliance on traditional social services such as eduction, crime prevention and cooperation with law enforcement, as well as with religious and community leaders.

The planned summit comes after terror attacks at the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa, in Sydney, Australia, and the slaughter of 2,000 people by Boko Haram in Nigeria have resulted in heightened international tension. The conference will address ways to prevent extremists from inspiring radicalization and recruiting new members.

The two heads of state met ahead of Congressional action that would increase sanctions against Iran if current negotiations over its nuclear program fail before the deadline for agreement on June 30. Cameron said he had “contacted  a couple of Senators” and indicated he might call others urging them to hold off on legislation that might “fracture the international coalition” as it works to limit Iran’s efforts to develop its nuclear capability. The British Prime Minister stressed that the calls should not in any way be seen as an attempt to “tell the American Senate what it should or should not do,” but as a way of expressing the opinion of the United Kingdom that interference with the ongoing talks could be counterproductive.

The president has said that any action so close to the deadline would provide Iran with the justification not only to withdraw from the talks altogether, but the opportunity to blame the failure of the talks on the United States. Iran has agreed to a moratorium on nuclear development pending the outcome of the talks.

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, confirmed that he had spoken with Cameron about the legislation, is planning to introduce an additional bill that would require the approval of Congress before a final deal with Iran is made.

The proposed legislation is a hot button issue for Obama who has used tough language to assure Congress that he is capable of closing a deal with Iran, saying if  he does not succeed, he “will be the first to come to Congress about the need to tighten the screws.” Obama also had what was termed “a blunt exchange” with Democrats at a party retreat in Baltimore, as well as with Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) who is one of the sponsors of the legislation. which is gaining support from Democrats and Republicans. President Obama has vowed to veto both bills if they reach his desk.