Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., said Wednesday that has "some concerns" after his first reading of the nuclear deal struck between the White House and Iran.

"There are some concerns that actually have escalated after my first reading," Israel said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "One, the issue of the lifting of sanctions, and the embargo on conventional arms and missiles, I don't know why we are doing that and I don't want to empower Iran, make it easier for Iran to equip Hamas, Hezbollah and other bad actors," he said.

"Two, the verification process," he added. "It seems as if Iran actually has three weeks or more to determine whether they will allow [International Atomic Energy Agency] inspectors onto specific sites. That is a far cry from what I understood to be 'anywhere, any time.' "

The deal announced Tuesday, which comes after nearly 20 months of negotiations, has the United States agreeing to ease economic restrictions on Iran in return for guarantees that Tehran will continue its nuclear program with certain limits and restrictions in place.

The New York congressman is not alone in worrying about the deal announced Tuesday. Conservative pundits have loudly criticized the deal, and many of them argue it's dangerous and paves the way for future unrest.

"We have a deal. It's a deal worse than even we imagined possible," The Weekly Standard's Bill Kristol wrote this week.

"[N]o dismantlement of Iran's nuclear program, no anytime/anywhere inspections, no curbs on Iran's ballistic missile program, no maintenance of the arms embargo, no halt to Iran's sponsorship of terror," Kristol wrote.

Rep. Israel serves on Congress' Appropriations Committee, as well as on the Defense and Interior subcommittees.