John Kerry Pushes Back as Republicans Attack Iran Deal at Senate Hearing

Republicans in the US Senate on Thursday used the first public hearing on the nuclear deal with Iran to assail Barack Obama’s administration, telling top members of president’s cabinet they had been “fleeced” and “bamboozled” by negotiations between six world powers and Tehran. Tension simmered from the outset of the hearing at the US Capitol, where secretary of state John Kerry, energy secretary Ernest Moniz and treasury secretary Jack Lew testified before the Senate foreign relations committee as part of their efforts to persuade lawmakers to support the landmark deal announced in Vienna last week. But Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, showed no signs of wavering from their opposition to the agreement aimed at preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.