Tehran, July 20, IRNA - US Secretary of State John Kerry in a round of interviews that aired Sunday, defended the deal they negotiated with Iran, saying that it leaves the Middle East safer and that there is no viable alternative.


�The real fear of that region should be that you don�t have the deal,� Kerry said in an interview on CNN�s �State of the Union.�

The agreement finalized last week in Vienna has come under heavy criticism from Republicans in Congress, which could vote to reject it. On Sunday, the US administration officially presented the agreement to lawmakers, who will have 60 days to review it.

Kerry said that if opponents in Congress get enough votes to override a presidential veto, the consequences will be dire, warning that Iran would resume enriching uranium to levels prohibited under the deal.

�If Congress says no to this deal, then there will be no restraints on Iran, there will be no sanctions left,� he said.

He added that the five nations that negotiated alongside the United States would blame Washington for the deal�s failure and lift their sanctions on Iran.

By IRNA