WASHINGTON – Don’t believe the US? Go ahead, ask the Russians.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday that if anyone doesn’t believe the information the Obama administration released on the Iran nuclear agreement, they could check with Russia.
“The Russians, who are not our usual allies, released a statement saying that what we have put out in terms of our information is both reliable and accurate,” Kerry said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
Kerry had led long negotiations in Switzerland to reach a tentative deal April 2 with Iran over its nuclear-weapons program. Russia, Germany, Great Britain, China and France were also part of the talks.
Iran’s ayatollah, Ali Khamenei, has cast doubt on the talks by later tweeting in English that the Americans fact sheet “was contrary” to what was agreed.
“They always deceive & breach promises,” he wrote.
The biggest difference between the Iranian and White House fact sheets is the supposed timing for sanctions relief for the rogue nation.
Khamenei insists that the sanctions would be lifted from the start.
The State Department points to an article from Russian news agency Interfax where Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov called the White House fact sheet “truthful and reliable.”
The deal’s chief critic, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), cited the fact-sheet discrepancy in a recent interview when he accused Kerry of trying to “sell a bill of goods” that Iran never agreed to.
“John Kerry is delusional,” McCain told radio host Hugh Hewitt.
But Obama came to Kerry’s defense during a press conference Saturday in Panama City.
He bashed McCain for implying that Kerry “is somehow less trustworthy in the interpretation of what’s in a political agreement than the Supreme Leader of Iran — that’s an indication of the degree to which partisanship has crossed all boundaries.”
Asked to respond to McCain’s criticisms, Kerry said the president already took care of that.
“I’ll let the president’s words stand,” Kerry said on ABC’s “This Week.” “I also stand by every fact that I have laid out.”
Kerry will head to Congress this week to convince lawmakers this tentative agreement is a good one. Negotiators have until this summer to work out a final framework.
