[BBC.CO.UK] The US secretary of state has said the deal reached on Sunday over Iran's nuclear programme will make Israel and the Middle East a safer place.John F.
I was in Vietnam, you knowKerry
Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a
lucky hat,conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State...
was speaking after Iran agreed to curb some of its nuclear activities in return for about $7bn (£4.3bn) in sanctions relief.
However,
there's more than one way to skin a cat...
Israel has described the agreement as a "historic mistake".
Iran's president said its right to uranium enrichment had been recognised, but Mr Kerry denied this.
Tehran has, however, agreed to stop all enrichment above 5%.
World powers suspect Iran's nuclear programme is secretly aiming at developing a nuclear bomb - a charge Iran has consistently denied.
The deal reached overnight in Geneva will last for six months, while a permanent agreement is sought.
UK Prime Minister
David Cameron... has stated that he is
certainly a big Thatcher fan, but I don't know whether that makes me a Thatcherite,which means he's not. Since he is
not deeply ideologicalhe lacks core principles and is easily led. He has been described as
certainly not a Pitt, Elder or Younger,but he does wear a nice suit so maybe he's Beau Brummel ...
said it "demonstrates how persistent diplomacy and tough sanctions can together help us to advance our national interest".
US President Barack Obama
I mean, I do think at a certain point you've made enough money...
welcomed the deal, saying it would "help prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon".
'Larger breathing space'
The White House says President B.O. has spoken by telephone to Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu about the Iran deal.
President B.O. said Israel had "good reason to be sceptical about Iran's intentions", a White House front man said.
The two leaders reaffirmed their shared goal of preventing Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon, the front man said.
Earlier, Mr Kerry told ABC's This Week programme that the US and Israel shared the same goal, and that the deal was a first step in making sure Iran could not have nuclear weapons.
"It leads us into the negotiation so that we guarantee that ... while we are negotiating for the tougher provisions, they will not grow the programme and their capacity to threaten Israel," he said.
"Israel will actually gain a larger breathing space in terms of the breakout capacity [to make a nuclear weapon] of Iran."
The US secretary of state added that he hoped Congress would recognise the benefits of the deal and refrain from passing new sanctions.
However,
facts are stubborn; statistics are more pliable...
leading Republican Senator Bob Corker said he had concerns about the deal and promised to hold the administration's "feet to the fire".
"This administration is long on announcements but very short on follow-through," he said in an interview for Fox News Sunday.
Senator Chuck Schumer
Senator-for-life from New York, renowned for his love of standing in front of cameras. Schumer has been a professional politician since 1975, when disco was in flower.
, from President B.O.'s Democratic party, was also disappointed by the Geneva agreement, which he said favoured Iran.
"As for additional sanctions, this disproportionality of this agreement makes it more likely that Democrats and Republicans will join together and pass additional sanctions when we return in December," he said in a statement.