Secretary of State John Kerry pushed back against criticism of the Iran deal from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying in an interview Tuesday that his comments are “way over the top.”
Kerry also dismissed Netanyahu’s comments further, telling NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell that he said the same thing when the two sides had an “interim agreement,” adding that Israel is now “safer” thanks to this deal.
Earlier on Tuesday, Netanyahu called the deal a “stunning, historic mistake” during a press conference in Jerusalem. (RELATED: Netanyahu Slams Iran Deal: ‘What A Stunning, Historic Mistake’)
ANDREA MITCHELL: What do you say to Israel’s prime minister?
JOHN KERRY: Israel is safer.
MITCHELL: An historic mistake he says.
KERRY: He said the same thing about the interim agreement, and he was wrong. The fact is that he’s practically been making comments that are way over the top. He doesn’t even know what the concessions are that we have not engaged in because we haven’t made concessions. So there’s a game — there’s a process here. This is under attack by people who really don’t know the terms of the agreement, and they don’t offer an alternative. Their alternative is what, perpetual state of sanctions? Not going to happen.