Former Secretary of State John Kerry repeatedly undermined President Trump’s Iran foreign policy during unauthorized meetings with senior Iranian officials, according to Keith Kellogg, who served as chief of staff for President Trump’s (R-Texas) National Security Council.
“He’s been doing that.” Asked if Kerry had sent conflicting messages to Iran, Kellogg told the conservative U.S. news agency Just the News.
“Just the fact that he went there and the fact that he talked to (Iranian Foreign Minister) Zarif sends a very, very strong contradictory message about what we’re trying to do there,” Kellogg said.
“We read the cables and we understood what was going on,” Kellogg added, “and we talked about it a couple of times in the Oval Office. What he did was not helpful because he was basically countering every message we sent and trying to push them into some kind of negotiation.”
After pulling out of the international nuclear deal, Trump reimposed tough sanctions on Iran. They have crippled the oil powerhouse and forced Iran to commit to denuclearization.
“I’ve been involved in this many times when the president was ready to reach out to heads of state like Macron in France, he would reach out to Johnson in the U.K. and try to get them to be the go-between for talking to the Iranians and getting us involved in some kind of discussion.” Kellogg said, “Because people like Kerry, who kept meeting with people like Zarif, we always felt doubly resistant.”
The Trump administration does not seem to be doing anything to stop Kerry, which is a headache for Kellogg and others.
“We know what he’s doing, and we’re frustrated that basically everybody acknowledges it, that it’s basically acknowledged by everybody. No one cares if one of us does.” Kellogg said.
In late 2016, President Trump’s new national security adviser, Michael Flynn, was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for discussing U.S. sanctions against Russia with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, and the FBI considered prosecuting Flynn under an old law that prohibits individuals from engaging in unauthorized diplomatic activity.
Now, similar allegations are being made against Kerry, President Biden’s special envoy on climate issues. It recently emerged that Kerry had revealed to Iran’s foreign minister the number of Israeli attacks on Iranian facilities, and Kerry has been defending the matter.
Kerry said the information has been made public. Kerry cited a journalist’s tweet noting that a senior Israeli official said in a news report that Israel had carried out 200 attacks on Iranian facilities in Syria, the same number that Kerry revealed to Zarif. It was unclear whether Kerry’s conversation with Zarif predated the report.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Kellogg said it would be illegal to disclose classified information even if it had been made public.
“Even if it’s public record, we can’t admit classified actions. The media may get the information, but we’re not going to acknowledge it.” Kellogg said.
Kerry’s disclosure of secrets to Zarif came to light after a leaked audio recording of an interview Zarif gave today, in March.
In the leaked audio, Zarif, Iran’s top diplomat, also complains that high-ranking members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps have more influence than he does in foreign affairs and the nuclear program.
Zarif said, “I have not been able to ask a military commander to do something to help with foreign affairs.”
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