text: President Barack Obama threw off the gloves and took a direct punch at one of his possible successors, likely Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker, in an interview airing this morning. Responding to Walker's claims that he'd 'absolutely' cancel or 'disown' a deal with Iran on 'day one' if elected to higher office, Obama told NPR Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep that such an approach 'would be foolish.' 'And, you know, perhaps Mr. Walker, after he's taken some time to bone up on foreign policy, will feel the same way,' the president added. Walker fired back at Obama on Twitter, saying, 'Americans would be better served by a President who spent more time working with governors & Congress rather than attacking them.' Scroll down for video . Foolish: In an interview with NPR, Obama said likely Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker may change his 'foolish' position on a deal with Iran 'after he's taken some time to bone up on foreign policy' Obama's jab at Walker departed from the White House's general strategy of staying out of the race to replace the sitting president, who is prohibited by the Constitution from seeking another term . Obama's jab at Walker, the governor of Wisconsin, departed from the White House's general strategy of staying out of the race to replace the sitting president, who is prohibited by the Constitution from seeking another term. The current administration has been more willing to weigh in, however, when a presumed Republican candidate threatens to dismantle one of the president's prized domestic or foreign policies, which, in the case of Walker, was the nuclear arrangement with Iran. 'I am confident that any president who gets elected will be knowledgeable enough about foreign policy and knowledgeable enough about the traditions and precedents of presidential power that they won't start calling to question the capacity of the executive branch of the United States to enter into agreements with other countries,' Obama told Inskeep during their Monday afternoon chat following the NPR host's invocation of Walker's past comments. 'If that starts being questioned, that's going to be a problem for our friends and that's going to embolden our enemies.' Continuing, Obama said, that 'would be a foolish approach to take' and slammed Walker. A cadre of probable Republican presidential contenders have spoken out against the Obama administration's laboriously negotiated pact with Iran to stunt the growth of the country's program. Walker is the only one to say he would not honor his predecessor's deal with Iran and the international community if elevated to presidency, however. 'If I ultimately choose to run, and if I’m honored to be elected by the people of this country, I will pull back on that on January 20, 2017, because the last thing — not just for the region but for this world — we need is a nuclear-armed Iran,' he told radio host Charlie Sykes last week. 'It leaves not only problems for Israel, because they want to annihilate Israel, it leaves the problems in the sense that the Saudis, the Jordanians and others are gonna want to have access to their own nuclear weapons.' Obama has said on repeat that he believes a diplomatic agreement with Iran that shuts down, in theory, its pathways to developing a bomb will be more effective  than a military option. Obama was responding to Walker's claims that he'd 'absolutely' cancel or 'disown' a deal with Iran on 'day one' if elected to higher office. Walker is currently the governor of Wisconsin . Swatting Walker away: Obama takes part in the White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn, which included a spot of tennis . 'We're now in a position where Iran has agreed to unprecedented inspections and verifications of its program, providing assurances that it is peaceful in nature,' he told NPR, touting the accord that representatives of his administration and five other countries reached with Iran. Furthermore, the global community will have assurances that Iran's stockpile of enriched uranious 'remains in a place where they cannot create a nuclear weapon,' he said. 'This deal is the right thing to do for the United States, for our allies in the region and for world peace.' Obama said 'it's a hard argument to make that we're better off right now' having 'no insight' into Iran's facilities 'and letting them rush towards a bomb.' And if Iran doesn't change its behavior, Obama said the U.S. will 'still have the options available to me - or available to a future president that I have available to me right now.' Included in that portfolio will be the ability to reinstate financial sanctions on the country at any time nuclear experts at the International Atomic Energy Agency determine its broken the rules. Other areas of the plan remain fuzzy and will await clarification in a final round of talks, scheduled to take place by the end of June. Already a fissure between the United States' and Iran on sanctions - the U.S. will only commit to gradual relief that can be 'snapped back' into place while Iran is taking the stance that restrictions should be removed immediately and permanently in exchange for nuclear concessions - has emerged since the countries announced the preliminary agreement last Thursday. Obama told NPR his administration still isn't sure it 'can button down' all the issues standing in the way of a long-term agreement and it will have to 'work very hard in order to complete a deal.' And while he characterized Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's demand that a final deal force Iran to recognize his country's right to exist as a 'fundamental misjudgment' of the political waters, Obama noted that one of the most 'profound' differences between America and Iran 'is the vile, anti-Semitic statements that have often come out of the highest levels of the Iranian regime.' 'So what I would say to the Israeli people is you are right to be suspicious of Iran. There's no reason why you should let your guard down with respect to Iran,' he said. 'But ultimately, Iran is deterrable, and it is deterrable not just because of Israel's superior military and intelligence capabilities but also because you got a really strong ally in the United States of America.' Shifting to the topic of Cuba briefly, Obama confirmed that he was considering removing the Latin American country from the U.S.' list of countries that sponsor terrorism. 'Understand that the criteria is very straightforward. Is this particular country considered a state sponsor of terrorism, not, do we agree with them on everything, not whether they engage in repressive or authoritarian activities in their own country,' he said. 'And so those standards, those criteria are the ones that are going to be measured against the current activities of the Cuban government.' Obama said he'll make a decision after he receives the State Department's recommendation. The president said his most pressing concern was whether he could effect the United States' relationship with the communist country in a way that 'benefits the Cuban people over the long term.' 'There are areas where there are serious differences' between the two countries, he said. 'But I do see the possibility -- a great hunger within Cuba -- to begin a change, a process that ultimately, I think, can lead to more freedom and more opportunity.'
target: The president took a jab at the Wisconsin governor during an interview with NPR Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep .
  Obama was responding to Walker's claims that he'd 'absolutely' cancel or 'disown' a deal with Iran on 'day one' if elected to higher office .
  Jab at Walker departed from the White House's general strategy of staying out of the race to replace the sitting president .
  Walker fired back on Twitter: 'Americans would be better served by a President who spent more time working with governors & Congress rather than attacking them'
  Obama defended the informal agreement his administration made with Iran and the shift toward Cuba, which it may take of its list of terrorist countries .