Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Obama administration officials took to the Sunday shows for a long-distance debate over the Iran nuclear deal.
Netanyahu said the agreement will pave the way for Iranian nuclear weapons and provide its government money to finance terrorist activities; Secretary of State John Kerry said Iran's pathways to nukes are shut down, and the deal improves the security situation in Iran and throughout the Middle East.
In appearances on CBS'
Face The Nation and ABC's
This Week, Netanyahu said Iran is likely to cheat and pursue nuclear weapons anyway, and that Tehran's existing nuclear energy program remains intact.
"The alternative was to dismantle Iran's nuclear program before dismantling sanctions," Netanyahu sad on CBS. "That was the original American position, it was a good one."
Under the agreement that President Obama announced Tuesday, the U.S. and allies reduce economic sanctions as Iran gives up the means to make to make nuclear weapons.
Kerry, who sat for Sunday show interviews along with Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, said the agreement is not based on trust of Iran -- it includes inspections and calls for revival of sanctions if Iran violates the terms.
"Everything that this deal is based on is on performance that could be verified, and that is critical," Kerry said on CBS.
The administration has submitted the agreement to the Republican-run Congress, which could pass a resolution of disapproval. Obama, however, could veto such a resolution, forcing Republicans to obtain a two-thirds vote of Congress to defeat the deal.
Kerry told CBS that Obama and aides pursued the Iran agreement because "the primary challenge here was getting a nuclear weapon away from Iran. And we believe this deal does that."
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