Deal reached on Iranian nuclear program

Iran and six world powers reached a deal early Sunday that would halt parts of Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for what was described by the Obama administration as “modest relief” from international sanctions.

Obama, speaking from the White House while Secretary of State John Kerry helped ink the agreement in Geneva, called it a “first step toward a comprehensive solution.”

The deal, while historic, is a six-month agreement. Republican senators in Washington warned shortly after the terms were announced that western powers were giving up too much in exchange for too little, in hopes of a longer-term deal. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., said it would give a leading sponsor of terror “billions of dollars in exchange for cosmetic concessions.”

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said that the agreement “makes a nuclear Iran more, not less, likely,” and called the deal “a blow to our allies in the region who are already concerned about America’s commitment to their security and it sends the wrong message to the Iranian people, who continue to suffer under the repressive rule of their leaders who have only their own self-preservation in mind.”

But Obama insisted the sanctions relief is reversible if Iran doesn’t live up to its end of the bargain.

More From FoxNews: