U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry sought on Sunday to offer assurances to Israel over the nuclear deal with Iran, saying that the agreement would make Israel safer over the next six months. "Israel is threatened by what has been going on in Iran," Kerry told CNN.
"But I believe that from this day - for the next six months - Israel is in fact safer than it was yesterday because we now have a mechanism by which we are going to expand the amount of time in which they (the Iranians) can break out (toward making a nuclear bomb). We are going to have insights to their program that we didn't have before," he added.
"I believe that Israel in fact will be safer, providing we make sure that these ... sanctions don't get lifted in a way that reduces the pressure on Iran - and we don't believe they will be, there's very little sanctions relief here - that the basic architecture of the sanctions stays in place," Kerry said.
Republicans condemn Iran nuclear deal
Some Republicans in US Congress called the nuclear deal hammered out between Iran and world powers very dangerous, despite assurances from the United States.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.):
"I have serious concerns that this agreement does not meet the standards necessary to protect the United States and our allies. Instead of rolling back Iran's program, Tehran would be able to keep the key elements of its nuclear weapons-making capability. Yet we are the ones doing the dismantling – relieving Iran of the sanctions pressure built up over years. This sanctions relief is more lifeline than 'modest.' Secretary Kerry should soon come before the Foreign Affairs Committee to address the many concerns with this agreement."
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard "Buck" McKeon (R-Calif):
"Iran hasn't given the world reason to be anything but deeply skeptical of any agreement that leaves their capacity to build nuclear weapons intact. The President sees wisdom in placing trust, however limited, in a regime that has repeatedly violated international norms and put America's security at risk. Apparently, America has not learned its lesson from 1994 when North Korea fooled the world. I am skeptical that this agreement will end differently."