Kerry: ‘Calm down’ over Iran

Secretary of State John Kerry said he will urge Congress to “calm down” over new Iran sanctions when he briefs the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday.

Kerry said that the United States should give Iran “a few weeks” to see if the negotiations can lead to a deal between Iran and the six world powers.

{mosads}“What we’re asking everybody to do is calm down, look hard at what can be achieved and what the realities are,” Kerry said.

“If sanctions were to be increased, there are members of that coalition who have put it in place who would think we’re dealing in bad faith, and they would bolt,” he said.

Before entering the closed-door briefing, Kerry told reporters that the deal that fell through over the weekend was only a first step in the talks with Iran. He said the U.S. had pursued a “tough” proposal and would be able to ramp sanctions back up should Iran not follow through on its nuclear commitments.

Kerry issued a statement before the briefing began without taking questions.  

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