John Kerry, who came to national prominence by betraying his fellow Vietnam veterans during the war, is denying he discussed Israeli strikes against Iranian targets in Syria with the Iranian foreign minister.
In a tweet on Monday night, Kerry claimed he never talked with Javad Zarif, the current foreign minister of Iran with whom Kerry negotiated the Iran nuclear deal, about the more than 200 Israeli strikes against Iran in Syria.
I can tell you that this story and these allegations are unequivocally false. This never happened – either when I was Secretary of State or since. https://t.co/BTOdFE1khW
— John Kerry (@JohnKerry) April 26, 2021
Zarif must not read the newspapers much because according to the leaked conversation, he was “astonished” at Kerry’s information.
A leaked audio recording of Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif, who worked closely with Kerry when the 2015 nuclear accord was negotiated, catches the Iranian official claiming the former Obama administration secretary of state informed him about at least 200 Israeli strikes on Iranian military positions in Syria. That Kerry shared these intimate details “to his astonishment,” according to the New York Times, suggests Kerry may have been disclosing classified information. It would also represent a stunning betrayal of America’s closest Middle East ally. Israel relies on the United States to protect shared intelligence from its top regional enemy.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the tape proves “what I’ve said for years: That [Zarif] continued to engage with former secretary of state Kerry on policy matters after Kerry’s public service and, according to Zarif, Kerry informed the Iranians of Israeli operations.”
While it’s true that the raids had been “in the news” for years, the sovereign government of Israel has never — and would never — confirm or deny the raids took place. But Kerry never was one to care much about technicalities like that.
“John Kerry must resign immediately,” Rep. Jim Banks (R., Ind.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, told the Washington Free Beacon. “The investigation should be retrospective.”
“These reports are concerning—I’d like the opportunity to ask Secretary Kerry about this in a closed hearing,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.), a member of the Senate’s Select Committee on Intelligence and its Armed Services Committee, told the Free Beacon.
Rep. Darrel Issa (R., Calif.), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, echoed calls for an investigation and promised to hold Kerry accountable for the disclosure of sensitive military information.
“While we can’t simply accept as fact what we hear from Iran’s foreign minister (or read in the New York Times), these reports warrant full and immediate investigation,” Issa said. “If John Kerry shared our nation’s intelligence with Iran and endangered Israel in any way, I promise he will be held to account.”
We should go easy on Kerry. He was just trying to be helpful. As some leftists are saying, betraying Israel is not the same as betraying America. And since Kerry sees Israel as a greater threat than Iran, he was just trying to gain favor with Iran when America tried to rejoin the nuclear deal in the Biden administration.
Considering what Kerry gave away in the 2015 nuclear agreement, it’s not surprising he would be so cavalier about any secrets from any country at all.
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