Secretary of State John F. Kerry defended the nuclear deal struck with Iran early Sunday, arguing that the United States and its allies believe the agreement ensures that the Islamic republic will either abide by the deal or suffer the consequences.
    “We have no illusions. We don,t do this on the basis of somebody,s statements to you. We do it on the basis on actions that can be verified,” Kerry told CNN in an interview.
    Nuclear agreement with Iran would freeze key nuclear activities while capping uranium enrichment. The agreement, sealed at a 3 a.m. signing ceremony in Geneva,s Palace of Nations, freezes key parts of Iran,s nuclear program in exchange for temporary relief on some economic sanctions. It marks the first pause in the country,s nuclear program in more than a decade and makes it virtually impossible for Tehran to build a nuclear weapon without being detected, U.S. officials said.
    Kerry also said the deal does not recognize Iran,s “right to enrich” uranium - a key sticking point in negotiations.
    “There is no inherent right to enrich,” Kerry said on ABC,s “This Week.” “And everywhere in this particular agreement it states that they could only do that by mutual agreement, and nothing is agreed on until everything is agreed on.”
    A number of Congress members expressed skepticism about the deal Sunday, including an influential member of the president,s party, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “In my view, this agreement did not proportionately reduce Iran,s nuclear program for the relief it is receiving,” Menendez said in a statement. “Given Iran,s history of duplicity, it will demand ongoing, on the ground verification.”
    But Menendez also suggested that Congress would not impose new sanctions during the six-month interim agreement period.
    “I expect that the forthcoming sanctions legislation to be considered by the Senate will provide for a six month window to reach a final agreement before imposing new sanctions on Iran, but will at the same time be immediately available should the talks falter or Iran fail to implement or breach the interim agreement,” his statement sad.
    In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed Sunday that his government was not a party to the talks in Geneva and therefore was not bound by the pact.
    “What was achieved last night in Geneva is not a historic agreement, but a historic mistake,” said Netanyahu in remarks before his weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday morning.
    Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif hailed the deal, which was reached after four days of hard bargaining, including an eleventh-hour intervention by Kerry and foreign ministers from Europe, Russia and China