Kerry says nuclear deal to make Iran "not get a weapon"

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday continued his job to sell the Iran nuclear deal to the Congress, defending the agreement will prevent the Islamic country from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

"They will not get a weapon," Kerry said during a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, as he answered questions from South Dakota Republican Mike Rounds.

The Republican senators advocated increasing unilateral sanctions against Iran, which Kerry disagreed on.

Kerry told the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday that the deal likely represented the only way to strike a bargain with Iran.

Testifying before the panel with Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, Kerry sought to win support from skeptical lawmakers, who have expressed deep concern that the deal did not go far enough to curb Iran's controversial nuclear program.

Congress is in the midst of 60-day review period of the deal.

U.S. President Barack Obama had vowed to veto any congressional attempt to block the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal. It requires two-thirds approval in both the House and Senate to override the veto.

Iran and six world major countries -- the U.S., Britain, China, Russia, France and Germany -- reached an agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue earlier this month that will put Iran on the path of sanctions relief but more strict limits on its nuclear program. Endi