Former US secretary of state John Kerry on Tuesday denied allegations he leaked sensitive information about Israeli military operations to Iran after a leaked audio recording of the country’s foreign minister appeared to claim he had.
The accusation surfaced in a leaked audio recording in which Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif recounted an interaction with Mr Kerry in which the then secretary of state said Israel had hit Iranian targets in Syria over 200 times – to Mr Zarif’s “astonishment”.
The accusation has led to a backlash against Mr Kerry, who now serves as President Joe Biden’s envoy for climate.
“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,” he tweeted.
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
Mr Zarif did not reveal when Mr Kerry made the alleged disclosure.
Related Story: Calls for John Kerry to be investigated for what he told Iran
Former US president Donald Trump’s UN envoy Nikki Haley tweeted that the claim was “disgusting on many levels” and said Mr Biden and Mr Kerry “have to answer for why Kerry would be tipping off Iran, the number one sponsor of terror, while stabbing one of our greatest partners, Israel, in the back.”
In the Senate, politicians also took aim at Mr Kerry.
“People are talking about treason – and I don’t throw that word around a lot,” Senator Dan Sullivan said, according to Politico. Several other Republicans also condemned the alleged remarks and called for Mr Kerry’s resignation as well as an investigation.
Senator Rick Scott also demanded an explanation.
The allegations involving @JohnKerry are deeply disturbing. If true, he must resign. My full statement below: pic.twitter.com/rhU5ZGdpZR
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) April 26, 2021
The allegations involving @JohnKerry are deeply disturbing. If true, he must resign. My full statement below: pic.twitter.com/rhU5ZGdpZR
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) April 26, 2021
While the State Department did not comment on the leaked audio file, spokesman Ned Price appeared to suggest the information about Israeli strikes against Iran in Syria was already publicly available.
“I would just make the broad point that if you go back and look at press reporting from the time, this certainly was not secret,” Mr Price said on Monday.
“And governments that were involved were speaking to this publicly, on the record.”
Mr Price did not specifically address whether Mr Kerry had made such comments to Mr Zarif, but implied that no sensitive information had been shared if the interaction took place.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham appeared to lend Mr Kerry the benefit of the doubt, saying that Mr Zarif was not a reliable source.
“I like John Kerry, but that would not be helpful and it would be very problematic if it were true. But let’s wait and see how authentic this is,” Mr Graham said.
“I don’t know if we should trust that tape or not. If it’s true, it’s very damaging,”
There are regular air strikes on Iranian, Syrian and Hezbollah forces in Syria and although Israel does not often comment on specific strikes it has claimed responsibility in general.
But in 2018, Israeli Intelligence Minister Israel Katz made one of the first public acknowledgements of the scale of Israeli strikes.
“In the last two years, Israel has taken military action more than 200 times within Syria itself,” he said.
“Understand the significance of this matter in terms of preserving the red line, preventing the things that Iran has done, is doing and is trying to do against Israel from Syria.”
Israel has repeatedly said it will take action to prevent high-tech weapons transfers to Syria and to stop threats to its borders or the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.
Mr Zarif’s comments came during a seven-hour conversation with economist Saeed Leylaz in March, as part of an oral history project. Three hours of audio from the conversation were leaked to the public on Sunday.
The Iranian foreign minister commented on the leak on Tuesday, writing on Instagram that, “We should not work for history. Don’t worry about history, worry about God and the people.”
(c) 2021 International Media Investments FZ LLC. All rights reserved Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
I started to hate this guy when he threw his medals away. His politics made him even worse. He is one of the reasons why I escaped Messachusetts and moved to Florida. The ********* have always been dumbocrats and their taxes prove it. I will never go back there. By the way new escapees from mess should leave their politics in messachusetts when they leave
While I am a supporter of Israel, think this Kerry uproar makes no sense. Are you going to tell me that when Iranian fighter is being bombed and he looks up and sees the Star of David in the winds of the plane overhead, that he does know who is bombing him. If he still alive after the bombing stops, he’s going to report to his CO who bombed him. Who will then report it to his CO and the info moves up the line.
So the idea that Kerry revealed some state secret to the Iranians in BullS.
It’s certainly not treason when the target makes a report.
When the head of your ally’s State Department makes the claim it gives total credence to the story.
Like when Biden threatened Ukraine to fire the prosecutor tasked with investigating wrongdoing by Hunter Biden. It was just a story until he went on video and made the claim himself.
How do you know, BOTH are not true.. That kerry leaked secrets (WHICH IS high treason), AND the target’s got a warning message out before being bombed?
How did his buddy, mealy mouthed Graham, escape the last 2-3 years of the VN War? College draft deferment?
Come on Man. John Kerry would not tell a lie. All of his Viet Nam statements were NOTHING but the truth ———– NOT !!! Truth does not fit in with the Dems propaganda line.
All i can say, is IF ITS proven to be true, he needs to be charged with HIGH TREASON.
I am a Vietnam veteran. I served in many to the same areas as he was in at about the same time. I can tell you he is a total lying SOB. He is also a traitor based upon his contacts with the enemy while he was still a reserve officer. His discharge was upgraded by Clinton to honorable.
I was too young for the Viet Nam war but when I found out he was awarded a Purple Heart for a self inflicted wound I lost all respect for this phony S.O.B. I realize it was an accident, but for what I’ve heard he was screwing around with an M79 and didn’t know what he was doing. At first my thought about him and Algore was at least they did show up instead of running away like Clinton did, but when I see veterans who lost limbs and have permanent scars on their bodies or suffered the affects of agent Orange, Kerry makes me sick! Then the dung heap runs around with his communist comrade Jane Fonda when he gets back just adds to my despising Kerry. I’m surprised his own men didn’t frag him.
I heard many stories like that from my father, who DID serve in nam.. That a LOT of folks who got awards, or at least got put IN for those awards, were cause THEY INFLICTED wounds on themselves.. Most from stupidity or neglect, but some were willingly done (such as one guy in my father’s squadron, who supposedly SHOT HIMSELF in the foot, just after leaving a LZ, after dropping off supplies..so he could claim he got hit by ‘enemy fire’..
But the problem is that the democrats leaving , won’t leave their democrat policies behind and will just mess up their new Home State and once they have messed up another state by their politics, they will use pick up their belongings , and move to another State and so it goes with progressive democrats…
once a traitor ALWAYS a traitor!
firing squad time.
Judas betrayed Jesus with 30 pieces of silver,,,,,Kerry does it with the rights to get rich by selling Heinz catsup in Iran. That’s not catsup in the shirts of our dead assasinated, murdered American soldiers. This one’s traitorous actions just beg for his own swiftboating of well earned personal attacks.
Not to mention his real-estate transactions under the North Vietnam overseers.
The same for Fabulous Jane “F”
SHE should have been given a firing squad, DECADES ago.
With flamethrowers.
I like your way of thinking!
Kerry should be arrested, tried and hung for treason. He has nothing but John Kerry’s best interests in his windshield. He has and continues hurting America and now that we know that he’s passed Top Secret material to a significant enemy of the United States he needs to be met with the ultimate penalty.
Correct! He should be hung alongside a whole host of other traitors starting Obama.
And can’t forget lynch, holder, barr, spineless sessions, and the clintons!
John Kerry, “I voted for the bill before I voted against it”. Mr. Global Warming Kerry, five homes, a private jet and big yachts. I am John Kerry, I preach against excess carbon in the atmosphere, but with my five homes, my private jet and my yachts, I emit excess carbon in the atmosphere, because I, John Kerry, am a hypocrite. Being John Kerry, I am an elitist, so do as a say, not as I do, with regard to releasing carbon into the atmosphere.
Hot tar and feathers on a rail out of this country……. return only to a noose.
The time is long overdue for the people of this country to get it through their thick skulls that we have been bamboozled AGAIN, and the people SUPPOSEDLY “elected” were done so by FRAUDULENT means, in order to turn our Constitutional republic into a third-world, communist-controlled, banana republic CESSPOOL and the citizens into controlled, overtaxed, over regulated “subjects” of the communist party. Kerry is just ONE “example of the TREASON that seems to be a “common occurrence” by members of the democommunist “party” ALL to make sure they are the “one party “RULERS” in the U.S.
So true
But you have to love the MSNBC coverage of Biden’s amazing poll numbers on performance at 100 days.
Best darned puppet in the universe!
MSNBC needs to make a name change.. TO COMMUCRAT propaganda wing!
Investigate this piece of garbage. We should not trust anyone who shot himself at least twice to get out of service in Viet Nam. Ha a proven scum bag.
TRAITOR and should be treated as one to the fullest extent of the law!
PITY we seem to have no laws anymore.
Unless you are a white, trump supporting conservative..
i personally don’t believe anything John Kerry says today, or has said in the past. He was a traitor, along with Jane Fonda starting with Vietnam, and continuing on to today!
Kerry, fonda and a # of other traitors, should have been hung BEFORE the ink was dry, on the peace accord that ended the nam war.
Should it really be any surprise that, John Kerry—who served in Vietnam—would do this? He is a traitor from the word “go”. Gets a purple heart for his “bravery” in Vietnam> He supported the Obama Iran deal and now he is the lead propagandist for “climate change”. He tried to schmooze Iran when Trump was in office.
And he unequivocally denies it? There is the admission of guilt.
As a Vietnam veteran I ask you to not refer to his time in country as “served”.
Are there boats gathering on the Potomac River to torpedo his explanations which like his other comments have the ring of insincerity about them? Come SWIFTLY!
After decades of lies, we would believe him now?
This reminds me of an O.J. kind of statement: I didn’t make that statement to Iran…But if I did I would have said it like this….
He didn’t make the statement but if he did everyone was saying the same. It isn’t just speculation when the Secretary Of State says it.
Treason!
I supported the swift boat veterans with a modest donation mostly because of his trashing our soldiers at the Paris, propagandized supposed Peace talks, which Kerry participated in as a jumping off start as his political entry to the keys to the key dim. Between Kerry and Gore, It is hard to decide which has arrogantly pretended that he was a ecologic practitioner, though in reality a multi home, billionaire, private jet-setting, abuser of Mother Earth. Having said that, He doesn’t have that much clout for the Iranian to lie in order to get Kerry compromised, so I can believe Kerry did have lose lips.
You say no and the recipient says yes? Your past behavior makes you completely unbelievable. Since the fast boat ****. protest doesn’t automatically make one more American unless the protest is against stupidity and governmental intrusion. Re-read the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, actually the whole thing to see what should be protested and discover you are one of those things.
Kerry should be publicly hung, the traitors fate for TREASON.
This sniveling traitor has been a silver spoon anti-American since his days of lying about the Vietnam war and his part in it. A lying leopard doesn’t change his spots. The Logan Act misapplied against Gen. Flynn was made for slime like Kerry and before him Ted Kennedy who offered the Soviets help to defeat Reagan.
YOu can bet though, that the dept of injustice will NOT APPLY the logan act in this situation..
Of course not. The Logan Act is dug up from the basement solely to harass Republicans. Dem traitors like Kerry get cabinet positions.
More and more the dems prove, LAWS ONLY Ever apply to us whites, us males, and us conservatives.. TO ANYONE Else.. Who cares what the law says.. IGNORE IT!
which makes me wonder, WHY THE HELL EVEN have a dept of ‘justice’ anymore.
America-hater John Kerry has acted as an unregistered foreign agent for the terrorist-sponsoring government of the Islamic Republic of Iran from the time that he served as Secretary of State in the Obama administration throughout the JCPOA negotiations until the present day so I do believe it is true that the deceitful Kerry had betrayed our Israeli allies to the Iranians. I suggest that the Iranians award Kerry a medal for his clandestine service to the the Islamic Republic.
Kerry is less believable than CNN.
If anything the Men who fight in war are drawn closer together, not The Same though, for the Swift boat crew and John Kerry, in fact, those that had to crew under John Kerry, as I understand it, went together and wrote a book, titled, ” Unfit for Command. ” Go figure, and “BIG JOHN , SO Full of …..
John Kerry is a Bald Face LIAR ! I’M a Disabled Vietnam Veteran and during my tour of duty 1965-69 and John Kerry sat in a Chair in front of a Bunch General S and Bald Faced Lied stating the Military Forces in Vietnam RAPED , KILLED BABIES , SET Homes on Fire and Destroyed Crops. John Kerry sold out the Military in Vietnam. When We the American Forces come home and Marched down Main Streets in our home Town s People Spit on Us and Throw Garbage on Us
And called Us Filthy Mane , Dog’s and Pig’s and he got away with it. Now he is doing the same Old Scrap again.
” GO TO _ELL JOHN (boy) KERRY.