Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) released a statement in support of the Obama Administration’s agreement with Iran over its nuclear weapons.

Schiff said the deal that keeps Iran from developing an atomic bomb for 15 or more years reduces the chances of war. Schiff called the Iran regime “a bitter adversary,” and praised elements of the deal like America’s unilateral ability to halt the whole range of sanctions in the event of Iranian noncompliance.

Schiff also said other elements of the deal are “even deeply concerning,” citing a lack of “robust access” to the sites of Iran’s past military work on nuclear weapons, and the permissible scope of Iran’s enrichment program after only 15 years. But he said in the absence of a credible alternative, Congress should accept the deal and work with the Administration to strengthen its impact, while joining forces with allies to better contain Iran’s capabilities and “nefarious” conduct in the region and beyond.

“The primary objective of the United States in the negotiations was to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon,” Schiff said. “Given the unthinkable consequences of Iran, the world’s foremost sponsor of terrorism, obtaining the bomb, this has been an overriding national security imperative of the United States for decades. As an American and as a Jew who is deeply concerned about the security of Israel, it is also intensely personal.”

Schiff said he believes the United States’ interests have been advanced under the agreement, since it would be difficult for Iran to make a nuclear weapon without giving the U.S. notice and time to stop it.

“We will still need to guard against any Iranian effort to obtain nuclear material or technology from proliferators abroad — a reality even if they had given up all enrichment — but the agreement likely gives the world at least a decade and a half without the prospect of an Iranian nuclear weapon and without going to war to make that so,” he said. “That is a major achievement.”

Schiff said it is important for Congress, the Obama Administration and U.S. allies to make clear that any cheating of the deal will be severely penalized and result in reimposition of sanctions.

“Iran will not be allowed to merely cease the offending conduct,” he said.

Schiff said the International Atomic Energy Agency and U.S. already have considerable intelligence about the type of work that Iran has done to construct, deliver and detonate an atomic bomb, but that no one expects Iran or its scientists to be forthcoming about Iran’s past weaponization work.

“The most troubling part of the agreement for me is … the size, sophistication and international legitimacy of Iran’s enrichment capability allowed in only fifteen years.”

At the start of negotiations, Schiff said it was hoped that if it were necessary to grant Iran an enrichment capability at all, it would only be a token one.

Instead, Schiff said, while approximately 13,000 centrifuges will be removed from operation, the agreement allows Iran to operate over 5,000 centrifuges and, eventually, to bring on line a faster set of instruments that reduce the time necessary to create enough fissionable material for a bomb down to a matter of weeks.

“Iran is … left with a robust and internationally legitimized enrichment capability,” he said. “I have searched for a better, credible alternative and concluded that there is none.”

Instead of rejecting the deal, Schiff said, Congress should focus on making it stronger.

To do that, Schiff said the U.S. should establish the expectation that while Iran will be permitted to have an enrichment capability for civilian use, it will never be permitted to produce highly enriched uranium.