By Kasim Ileri
WASHINGTON
Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was wrong to oppose negotiations with Iran to curb the Republic’s nuclear program.
"He was wrong. And today he's saying, ‘Oh, we should extend that interim agreement,’" Kerry told lawmakers during testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the State Department budget plan for 2016.
Netanyahu said an interim agreement with Iran on its nuclear program was the "deal of the century" for Tehran as it would not stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, rather it would formalize it.
The committee’s Republican chairman, Ed Royce, said the committee has real concerns about the direction of the talks with Iran, noting that he has been hearing less about dismantlement and more about the performance of Iran's nuclear program.
"Please understand there is no reduction at any time that permits Iran to build a nuclear weapon. Iran is forever forbidden from building a nuclear weapon," Kerry assured the lawmakers.
As a member of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, or NPT, Iran has certain responsibilities in the context of verification and transparency of its nuclear program, said Kerry.
"Unlike North Korea, which is not a member of the NPT, Iran has certain obligations that go forever," he added.
Kerry also accused the administration of former President George W. Bush of not stopping Iran from increasing its number of nuclear centrifuges from 164 to 19,000.
He also said the U.S. has not removed any options to challenging Iran's nuclear program, noting the that sanctions and military options are still on the table in case an agreement could not reached.
Negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 – the five permanent members of UN Security Council, plus Germany, continues in Geneva.
Negotiators have until the end of March to agree on a political framework about Iran’s nuclear program.
