Kerry warns Trump against new Iran strikes

Former US Secretary of State John Kerry criticized President Donald Trump's handling of the conflict with Iran on Thursday, warning that another round of American military strikes could further undermine prospects for a diplomatic agreement with Tehran. In an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour, Kerry addressed reports that Trump was considering resuming attacks against Iran following next week's US midterm elections. “Unfortunately, things are so unpredictable that just about anything can happen," Kerry said.

“I think it would be an enormous mistake just to open up post-election with a military barrage. That is not what will impress the Iranians or bring them to the table in a more serious way. In fact, it will push them away." Kerry, who served as Secretary of State under former President Barack Obama and helped negotiate the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, also criticized Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from the accord in 2018.

He questioned why Trump had not pursued negotiations aimed at improving the agreement before resorting to military action. “If President Trump really wanted to change and make a better agreement, why didn’t he put something on the table?" Kerry queried. “Why didn’t he actually make a proposal and have the Iranians respond to it or gain into another negotiation? “No, he rushed into a war, particularly in the last months, with a whole bunch of false assumptions that have made life more expensive and more dangerous for people all over the world."

According to Kerry, Trump's military campaign has weakened Washington's negotiating position rather than increasing its leverage over Iran. He argued that the President had “put himself in a very disadvantaged position from which to try to negotiate," although he maintained that an agreement resembling the 2015 nuclear deal remained achievable. Kerry said he believed Washington could still “get back to very close to the agreement we had," but cautioned that obtaining additional concessions from Tehran would be difficult following the American military campaign.

“I do not think after being bombed, after having the Ayatollah killed, the wife killed … so many disruptions within the region, I don’t think it’s going to be very easy to come in and argue you’re going to get more than they’d already agreed to - which the world said was sufficient," he said. “But maybe you can get a piece here and there. I certainly hope you can." The former Secretary of State also questioned whether military action could eliminate Iran's nuclear capabilities in the long term.

“You can’t bomb the memory of how to make a bomb," said Kerry. Instead, he urged the administration to pursue negotiations through multiple diplomatic channels. “I think that the key here is really engaging in real diplomacy. And real diplomacy could be several tracks at the same time: one more public and one very private, coordinated clearly," he added. Kerry's comments follow previous controversies surrounding his contacts with Iranian officials after leaving office.

He faced criticism for meeting with former Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in an effort to preserve the 2015 nuclear agreement, despite Trump's decision to withdraw from it. Kerry acknowledged those meetings but defended them, arguing that "every" former Secretary of State maintains contacts with foreign leaders. He also asserted that other individuals had advised Iran to wait until the Trump administration left office. In 2017, before Trump's withdrawal from the nuclear agreement, Kerry warned that abandoning the deal could encourage Iran to pursue nuclear proliferation.