U.S. President Barack Obama has rebuffed critics of a nuclear agreement reached earlier this week by Iran and world powers.
In his weekly address, Obama said on July 18 that without the deal, "we'd risk another war in the most volatile region in the world."
Under the deal agreed in Vienna on July 14, sanctions against Iran will be gradually removed in return for Tehran accepting long-term curbs on its nuclear program.
Obama's Republican rivals hope to sink the accord in a planned vote in Congress, which has 60 days to review it.
Obama said the deal "actually pushes Iran further away from a bomb.”
"We will have unprecedented, 24/7 monitoring of Iran's key nuclear facilities," he added.
If Iran does not comply with the agreement, sanctions “would snap back into place promptly," the president also said.