M.Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO Kerry to House GOP: 'I don't need any lessons from you' The secretary of state appeared beleaguered over the House response to the Iran deal.

House Republicans reviewing the Iran nuclear agreement threw everything they could Tuesday at Secretary of State John Kerry — including the clock.

They railed against Iran’s sponsorship of terrorist groups, its Islamist ideology and its imprisonment of Americans. One lawmaker mentioned Sept. 11. One questioned the Obama administration’s commitment to Israel’s security. Some even raised topics such as Cuba, human trafficking and crude oil in Texas.


And several repeatedly cut off Kerry and his fellow witnesses when they tried to respond, pointing out that they had only five minutes of speaking time. When he wasn’t looking annoyed, the secretary of state appeared frustrated or beleaguered.

The often-tense exchanges at the House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing came just days after a highly combative Senate hearing on the deal and illustrated that Republicans are holding the line in their opposition to the nuclear deal, despite the full-court press by the White House.

In one bit of sparring, Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania said Iran is like “a crocodile or a shark” that’s about to be given more teeth, and that the Obama administration should have sought a stronger agreement, such as a treaty, no matter what Iran’s leaders wanted.

“If the ayatollah doesn’t like it and doesn’t want to negotiate it, oh, boohoo,” the Republican said. “We’re here for America. We stand for America. You represent America.”

“Congressman, I don’t need any lessons from you about who I represent,” Kerry retorted moments later. “I’ve represented and fought for our country since I was out of college. So don’t give me any lessons about that, OK?”

Throughout the hearing, Kerry repeatedly said the deal was in America’s interest — as well as good for Israel and Arab allies — because a nuclear-armed Iran would be a far more dangerous enemy.

At one point, he practically yelled: “What this agreement is supposed to do is stop [Iran] from having a nuclear weapon. Now I want to hear somebody tell me how they’re going to do that without this agreement.”

The hearings come as within the 60 days Congress has to review the nuclear deal with Iran, which was negotiated with the U.S. and five other world powers. Even if the GOP-led Congress votes in a way that makes it hard for the Obama administration to uphold its end of the agreement, it’s unlikely to have a veto-proof majority.

Kerry appeared before the panel for four hours alongside Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. The same three appeared last week before the Senate committee, where Republicans accused them of being “fleeced” and “bamboozled.”

For the most part, Tuesday’s session covered well-trodden ground. Republicans raised concerns about the specifics of the agreement, especially the U.S. commitment to lift sanctions on Iran in exchange for the government in Tehran dismantling much of its existing nuclear program.

The House committee chairman, Republican Ed Royce of California, asked a series of pointed questions and noted that Iran has cheated on its nuclear obligations in the past. “Has Iran earned the right to be trusted?” Royce asked.

Kerry, as he has many times, said the deal is built on verification through inspections, not trust. He also tried to distinguish Iran’s terrorism-related activity, its interference in its neighboring countries and its human rights abuses from the nuclear deal by saying that an Iran with the bomb would be far more dangerous on all those other fronts.

New York Rep. Eliot Engel, the ranking Democrat on the committee, said he had many questions as well about the deal, but also asked what the odds are that a better deal could be reached if the U.S. walks away from one negotiated with six other countries over several years.

Kerry called the notion of a better deal a “unicorn fantasy.” He also said the idea of pursuing a treaty was a non-starter because it’s become “physically impossible” to get such an accord through the Senate.

Democrats, especially those with ties to Israel or concerns about how Jewish constituents will respond to the deal, have been cautious in their statements on Iran, and the administration has been working hard to gain their support for the deal.

The White House got some good news on that front Tuesday when Rep. Sander Levin, a Michigan Democrat with strong ties to Israel, announced he would support the agreement, a decision Kerry pointed out during the hearing.

“I believe that Israel, the region, and the world are far more secure if Iran does not move toward possession of a nuclear weapon,” Levin said in a lengthy statement. “I believe the agreement is the best way to achieve that.”

As he did to the Senate committee, Kerry also insisted that if the U.S. walks away from the agreement, it will damage its international standing and Iran will be even more emboldened to pursue a nuclear weapon.

Kerry also sounded a hopeful note regarding the Americans held prisoner in Iran. He said the administration is in “direct conversations” with the Iranians about the matter.

“That’s all I’m going to say here, today,” Kerry said. “And I hope they will be returned to be with their families.”

Those imprisoned are former Marine Amir Hekmati, Christian pastor Saeed Abedini and Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian. A fourth American, former FBI agent Robert Levinson, is believed missing and possibly held by the Iranians, though they deny it.