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Sunday Shows: On Iran, It's Kerry Vs. The Hawks

A deal in Geneva will halt key parts of Iran's nuclear program while lightening up economic sanctions placed on the country.

Sunday Shows: On Iran, It's Kerry Vs. The Hawks
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On the Sunday shows, for the first time in a decade, a deal to roll back parts of Iran's nuclear program.

JOHN KERRY: "Israel will be safer; the region will be safer. Iran's 20 percent uranium will be destroyed."

And the hawks are out in full force.

MICHAEL HAYDEN: "Practically the worst of all possible outcomes."

For National Journal, I'm Zach Toombs. An early morning deal in Geneva between Iran and six world powers will halt key parts of Iran's nuclear program while lightening up the heavy economic sanctions placed on the country. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was essential in hatching that deal — and to sell it to the American people, he made the rounds on the Sunday shows. (Via BBC)

KERRY: "You don't trust. It's not based on trust. It's based on verification. … So, you don't have to trust the people you're dealing with. You have to have a mechanism put in place whereby you know exactly what you're getting." (Via CBS)

KERRY: "Now, the choice people have is, do you want to sit there and argue that you have to dismantle your program before you stop it? And while you're arguing about dismantling it, they progress." (Via ABC)

Critics in Israel and the U.S. had argued any plan that did not totally dismantle Iran's nuclear program would be unacceptable. So, needless to say, Sunday they were none too pleased. (Via ITN)

MIKE ROGERS: "We've given them just enough breathing room, the one thing that brought them to the table … We may have just encouraged more violence in the future than we have stopped."

HAYDEN: "My great fear is this interim agreement, which doesn't roll back much of anything at all, becomes a permanent agreement." (Via CNN)

With Republican Bob Corker predicting more sanctions from Congress.

CORKER: "I think you're going to see on Capitol Hill again a bipartisan effort to try to make sure that this is not the final agreement." (Via Fox News)

This marks the first time in three weeks Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not sat down with a Sunday show — though he had previously opposed talk of deals similar to this one with Iran.