Republican Bradley Byrne, who is running for the Congressional District 1 seat in south Alabama, called the announcement of a nuclear agreement with Iran a “dangerous step.”

The agreement calls for Iran to limit its nuclear activities in exchange for lighter sanctions. It was announced Saturday after days of negotiations with diplomats from the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Russia, Chinda and Germany.

“Yesterday’s announcement in Geneva is a dangerous step forward for the international community and our most important ally in the Middle East, Israel,” Byrne said in a statement. “This deal allows Iran to enrich uranium while easing sanctions that took years to implement, a combination that will have devastating effects on the security and stability of the region.

“We should not loosen sanctions established by the United Nations Security Council and should instead protect our ally, Israel, by not allowing Iran to enrich uranium and continue their progress towards obtaining nuclear weapons capabilities.”

Byrne will face Democrat Burton LeFlore in a Dec. 17 special election to determine who will replace former U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner, who resigned over the summer to take a private sector job. The district heavily favors a Republican.