South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said Wednesday that the nuclear agreement between Iran and six other world powers will only strengthen Iran and increase the chances of war in that region of the world.

"A fantasy is to believe this deal will not lead to a nuclear arms race in the Middle East," the Republican presidential hopeful said on NBC's "The Today Show" Wednesday morning.

"This is a terrible deal. Anybody could have done better. You have taken a can of gasoline and thrown it on a fire," he added.

The deal, reached Tuesday, gives Iran relief from economic sanctions in return for curbing its nuclear program. But many Republicans say the deal doesn't curb Iran nearly enough, and Graham is among numerous lawmakers who have said they oppose it.

"There are a lot of Democrats who say they support Israel, this is your chance," Graham said to his fellow lawmakers about voting against the deal. Congress has 60 days to approve it.

Watch his full remarks below.