Obama rebuffs critics of Iran nuclear pact

Washington D.C

US President Barack Obama rebuffed critics of the Iran nuclear agreement Saturday, defending the historic accord amid skepticism from lawmakers reviewing the deal. 

In his weekly address, Obama said that without the accord, "we'd risk another war in the most volatile region in the world," underlining the limits now placed on Iran's nuclear program. 

"This deal actually pushes Iran further away from a bomb. And there's a permanent prohibition on Iran ever having a nuclear weapon," Obama said. 

"We will have unprecedented, 24/7 monitoring of Iran's key nuclear facilities."He said repercussions would be swift if Iran did not stick to the agreement. 

"If Iran violates this deal, the sanctions we imposed that have helped cripple the Iranian economy the sanctions that helped make this deal possible would snap back into place promptly." The agreement, signed Tuesday after two years of talks, aims to roll back Tehran's nuclear program in return for lifting sanctions that have stunted Iran's economy.

Under the deal, Iran will cut by about two-thirds the number of centrifuges -- which can make fuel for nuclear power stations but also the core of a nuclear bomb  from around 19,000 to just over 6,000.The US Congress has 60 days to review the agreement, and can vote to approve or reject it.

Obama's Republican rivals, who hope to scupper the agreement in a planned Congressional vote, have accused him of appeasement.Obama said he was not scared of naysayers, and welcomed questions on the deal.