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Representatives grill Kerry on aspects of Iran nuclear talks

Secretary of State John Kerry testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015, before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing to review the State Department's fiscal 2016 budget request. Kerry has implored skeptical senators not to criticize nuclear negotiations with Iran before a deal can be crafted, but he’s certain to get another round of questions about the sensitive talks from members of the House. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) Secretary of State John Kerry testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015, before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing to review the State Department's fiscal 2016 budget request. Kerry has implored skeptical senators not to criticize nuclear negotiations with Iran before a deal can be crafted, but he’s certain to get another round of questions about the sensitive talks from members of the House. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

By Associated Press February 25, 2015 1 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee is pressing Secretary of State John Kerry about sensitive nuclear talks with Iran, saying Tehran is stonewalling international inspectors about its past work on an atomic bomb.

California Republican Rep. Ed Royce told Kerry at a hearing on Wednesday that the committee has serious concerns about the direction of the talks.

Kerry agreed that Royce’s questions were legitimate and that Iran must answer them if it wants to have an agreement with the U.S. and its partners on a deal to curb its nuclear program.

At the same time, Kerry said that it’s not appropriate to condemn what is in an agreement before anybody knows what it is – or if there even will be a deal.