White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest reiterated the claim that 99 percent of the world supports the nuclear deal with Iran. Photo: Screenshot.

ABC reporter Jonathan Karl on Friday questioned White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest about President Obama’s claim that 99 percent of the world backs the nuclear deal with Iran reached last week.

After Karl asked Earnest during a press briefing to explain how the White House had arrived at the number, the press secretary claimed that when considering the populations of the countries represented in the nuclear deal, “99 percent of the world” sides with the U.S. about the agreement.

Karl then pushed Earnest further on the figure and asked if the White House had taken into consideration the number of U.S. allies in the Middle East that would be directly affected the most by the nuclear deal. In response, Earnest said that each country should “speak for themselves.”

The press secretary then read out a statement from Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister about how the country welcomed discussions between the world powers and Iran. When Karl asked if Earnest was implying that Saudi Arabia supported the nuclear deal, he again said that each country would need to answer for themselves.

Karl then listed a number of U.S. allies in the region and asked if Earnest would comment on their support for the deal. Earnest declined to respond further, but said regarding Israel that the Jewish state has “made pretty clear” that they are against the agreement.

Watch the exchange between ABC reporter Jon Karl and Press Secretary Josh Earnest in the video below: