The United States and five other world powers announced an agreement Sunday morning that would temporarily halt Iran's nuclear program and could eventually come to a more permanent agreement, news sources reported.

Secretary of State John Kerry defended the agreement, saying the U.S. and its allies think the pact will make sure the Islamic Republic follows the agreement or suffers the consequences, the Washington Post reported.

“We believe very strongly that because the Iranian nuclear program is actually set backwards and is actually locked into place in critical places, that that is better for Israel than if you were just continuing to go down the road and they rush towards a nuclear weapon,” Kerry said, CNN reported.

U.S. officials said it was the first time in almost a decade that a global accord had been made to slow and stop parts of Iran's nuclear program, the New York Times reported.

Set to last six months, the pact is meant to give global negotiators time to create a more encompassing pact that would pull back more of Iran's nuclear program and make sure it could only be used for peaceful means, the New York Times reported.