text: Secretary of State John Kerry 'is delusional' if he expected to claim the Iranians agreed to the phased lifting of sanctions as part of a nuclear deal when they didn't and get away with it, says the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, John McCain. 'I think John Kerry tried to come back and sell a bill of goods, hoping maybe that the Iranians wouldn’t say much about it,' the Republican lawmaker told radio host Hugh Hewitt during his Thursday program. McCain, responding to the supreme leader of Iran's proclamation yesterday that there would be no formal pact unless sanctions relief is 'instant,' said he had 'sympathy' for Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, because Kerry 'must have known' what the perimeters were for a long-term accord 'and yet chose to interpret it in another way.' Launching a rare attack from his official White House Twitter account, President Barack Obama's spokesman Josh Earnest in turn said it was 'naïve and reckless' for McCain 'to believe every word of the Supreme Leader's political speech.' 'He shouldn't,' Earnest added. And the president's deputy national security adviser told reporters traveling with the administration abroad that it's 'very clear and understood that sanctions relief will be phased.' Secretary of State John Kerry 'is delusional' if he expected to claim the Iranians agreed to the phased lifting of sanctions as part of a nuclear deal when they didn't and get away with it, says the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, John McCain . Kerry, is flanked here by President Barack Obama and National Security Adviser Susan Rice at the bilateral meeting between President Obama and Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela today in Panama City, Panama. The Obama administration is in Panama to attend the VII Summit of the Americas . 'The fact of the matter is, we have framework,' Rhodes said, according to the Associate Press. 'The president has said if the details don't bear out, we won't have a deal.' Obama, Kerry, National Security Adviser Susan Rice and other members of the president's kitchen cabinet are in Panama for the Summit of the Americas. Backed into a corner by reporters, the White House on Monday indicated that negotiators left Switzerland last week without coming to an agreement about the pace at which sanctions would be removed. The administration had stated in a fact sheet that nuclear-related sanctions would be 'suspended' if Iran complied with the terms of the deal. The president said in a live statement they would be 'phased' out over time. The framework, however, he said would remain in place so sanctions could be snapped back into place if need be. Iran's foreign minister, Javad Zarif, immediately cast a cloud over the United State's assertions, pointing out that the statement released by the United States' negotiating partners made no reference to either the gradual lifting of sanctions. Zarif indicated that his country was under the interpretation was that sanctions would be 'terminated.' Asked the next day about Zarif's claims, the lead spokeswoman for the State Department shrugged them off and said she wasn't too concerned with how Iranian leaders sold the deal in their own country. Barraged with questions at his Monday briefing about who was lying - the U.S. or Iran - White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest suggested that the timing of sanctions relief remained a topic of discussion - a major revelation given the dispute's potential for derailing a written agreement. Khamenei reaffirmed on Thursday his country's vow not to sign an agreement unless negotiators kowtow to Iran's demands and promise the 'instant annulment of all sanction,' according to a translation. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani similarly said, 'We will not sign any agreement, unless all economic sanctions are totally lifted on the first day of the implementation of the deal.' Khamenei further stated Iran would not allow an 'unconventional inspection or monitoring.' 'Foreign monitoring on #Iran's security isn’t allowed,' he said on Twitter. Speaking to reporters in Panama today, Rhodes also dismissed Iranian officials' rhetoric about the agreement as spin. 'They have their own hardliners who are skeptical of this deal,' he said. 'The test of whether or not that framework can be memorialized is not a comment on any given day by an Iranian leader, the test will be if by the end of June we have a document.' Responding to the supreme leader of Iran's announcement yesterday that there would be no formal pact unless sanctions relief is 'instant,' McCain, above, said he had 'sympathy' for Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, because Kerry 'must have known' what the perimeters were for a long-term accord 'and yet chose to interpret it in another way' McCain ripped into former colleague Kerry on Hewitt's radio show for mischaracterizing preliminary talks with Iran. 'It’s probably in black and white that the Ayatollah is probably right,' McCain said. 'John Kerry is delusional.' Continuing, the Arizona senator said, 'I think you’re going to find out that they had never agreed to the things that John Kerry claimed that they had.' 'So in a way, I can’t blame the Ayatollah, because I don’t think they ever agreed to it.' Republican Senator Mark Kirk on Thursday said, 'It’s increasingly clear that Iran, in fact, failed to reach agreement with the United States and its partners on a political framework that addresses all parameters of a comprehensive agreement. 'At best, Iran agreed to disagree with the United States on key nuclear weapons-related issues and to continue talks,' the Illinois lawmaker said. McCain told Hewitt Kerry's behavior 'reveals that a number of things' about his 'negotiating capabilities and also his candor with the American people.' He also said he believes Senate Republicans are 'extremely close' to winning enough Democrats' support to push through a veto-proof bill giving Congress the power to review the formal deal with Iran that is scheduled to materialize by June 30. Khamenei further stated that Iran would not allow an 'unconventional inspection or monitoring' Even with out that legislation, McCain claimed that the Senate has the Constitutional authority to reject an accord because it is technically treaty. Obama should 'read the Constitution of the United States,' McCain said. This is clearly a treaty.' And even if the president 'disregards the Constitution' McCain said - 'which he certainly did with executive orders concerning immigration' - Congress should have a say in an issue of this scale. South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, a member of the Armed Services Committee who is exploring a presidential run, said in a statement Friday afternoon that 'the Ayatollah and President Obama appear to be talking about two separate agreements. 'Unfortunately, I can’t say I’m surprised,' he added. 'President Obama wants a deal way too badly, and his Administration has been trying to sell a deal which may not actually exist.' Graham said the Obama administration should tell Iran 'in no uncertain terms – that should we come to an actual agreement between both parties, sanctions relief will not be immediate.' 'Any realistic agreement must preclude sanctions relief from being granted until Iran proves it has ended its military nuclear program.' Drawing on Khamenei's comment about supervision, Graham said he would 'never' lend his support to a deal that doesn't allow for inspections 'anytime and anywhere.' With 'Iran’s history of cheating,' he said, 'it would be incredibly dangerous not to require Iran to abide by an ‘anytime-anywhere’ inspections regime.'
target: Kerry 'is delusional' if he expected to claim the Iranians agreed to the phased lifting of sanctions when they didn't and get away with it, he said .
  Senate Armed Services Chair John McCain was responding to Iran saying there would be no formal pact unless sanctions relief is 'instant'
  'I think John Kerry tried to come back and sell a bill of goods, hoping maybe that the Iranians wouldn’t say much about it,' GOP lawmaker said .
  'At best, Iran agreed to disagree with the United States on key nuclear weapons-related issues and to continue talks,' another GOP senator said .
  Another  said 'the Ayatollah and President Obama appear to be talking about two separate agreements...unfortunately, I can’t say I’m surprised'