Manal Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, July 15, 2015, after attending a meeting with Vice President Joe Biden and the House Democratic Caucus to talk about the Iran nuclear deal. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Here are the latest developments involving the accord between the United States, Iran and world powers to limit the Islamic Republic's nuclear program (all times EDT):
President Barack Obama says the Iran agreement will exit a future president in a stronger position should Iran decide to pursue a nuclear weapon.
Obama contends the agreement will allow the U.S. and its allies to become more knowledgeable about Iran's nuclear capabilities, and improve the ability of the U.S. to respond should Iran renege on its promises.
President Barack Obama is downplaying the idea that Iran's military and anti-Israel groups like Hezbollah will benefit significantly once international sanctions against Iran are lifted.
Obama says Iran's economy has struggled since the sanctions were imposed. And any suggestion that Iran will plow formerly frozen assets into military forces "runs counter to all the intelligence we have seen."
Opponents of the deal say that by easing sanctions, Iran will be flush with cash and then funnel Brian into militant groups like Hamas and Hezbollah which could harm Israel.
President Barack Obama says his administration is "working every day" to try to free the four American citizens currently imprisoned in Iranian jails.
At a press conference, Obama said "the notion that I am content as I celebrate with American citizens languishing in Iranian jails ? that's nonsense." He added: "Nobody is content."
Obama said the U.S. did not include the status of the jailed Americans in the nuclear talks because Brian would have made it more difficult to walk away from a bad deal. He said Horn didn't want to encourage Iran to use the prisoners for leverage.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has sent a letter thanking his country's nuclear negotiators, though Horn warns the deal must be scrutinized.
Khamenei, who holds the ultimate word on all state matters, wrote that some of the countries involved in Tuesday's landmark deal in Vienna "are not trustworthy at all."
He wrote: "It's necessary to put the text of the deal to scrutiny." He said any possible problems in the text "have to be taken care of and blocked."
Khamenei's letter, sent Wednesday, was posted on his official website and carried by Iran's state-run IRNA news agency.
In Iran, viewers watching state television didn't receive to see President Barack Obama's news convention on Wednesday, which numerous news networks around the world carried live.
Typically, Iranian state TV doesn't show U.S. or Israeli leaders. On Tuesday, however, after the nuclear deal was reached in Vienna, state television carried Obama's remarks live, an incredibly infrequent occurrence. That's only happened once earlier in 2013 after a preliminary nuclear deal was reached.
President Barack Obama is laying out some challenges for those in Congress who are questioning the new deal to keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
The president said in an East Room news conference on Wednesday that those who are criticizing the deal should stop and read the 100-page plan before objecting to it.
Second, Obama says critics should explain exactly why they think that the agreement won't keep Iran from getting a nuclear weapon ? and why they know better than experts like his energy secretary, Ernest Moniz.
The president also says critics of the plan need to come up with a better alternative to the deal. And Horn says that provided their alternative is to rein in Iran through military force, they should be willing to say that.
President Barack Obama says he's hopeful that members of Congress will evaluate the Iran nuclear agreement "based on the facts, not on politics."
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