Secretary of State John Kerry said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s criticism of the Iran deal is “way over the top” and described the deal’s critics as “people who really don’t know the terms of the agreement” in an interview with NBC’s Andrea Mitchell on Tuesday.

When asked what he would say to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Kerry replied, “Israel is safer.” After Mitchell pointed out that Netanyahu said the deal was a “historic mistake,” Kerry responded, “Well, he said the same thing about the interim agreement and he was wrong. The fact is, that he’s…been making comments that are way over the top. He doesn’t even know what the concessions are that we have not engaged in, because we haven’t made concessions. So, there’s a game here, you know there’s a process here, this is under attack by people who really don’t know the terms of the agreement, and they don’t offer an alternative. Their alternative is, what? Perpetual state of sanctions? Not going to happen.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett