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Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
Secretary of State Kerry made several eye-brow-raising remarks in defense of the Iran nuclear deal, claiming the agreement is “as pro-Israel as it gets” and that Congress should be careful not to “screw” the Islamic leader.
In an extensive interview with journalist Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic, US Secretary of State John Kerry defended the nuclear accord signed with Iran as part of the White House’s intense lobbying to garner public support for what is considered to be President Barack Obama’s foreign policy centerpiece.
In the interview published Wednesday, Kerry told the Atlantic that he rejected Israel’s criticism of the nuclear agreement, saying that the deal “is as pro-Israel as it gets.”
He also said that if Congress were to vote against the accord, it would be “the ultimate screwing” of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and would confirm the Iranian leader’s anti-American suspicions, dealing a devastating blow to the diplomatic efforts and increasing the likelihood of war.
“The ayatollah constantly believed that we are untrustworthy, that you can’t negotiate with us, that we will screw them. This will be the ultimate screwing,” said Kerry. “He will not come back to negotiate. Out of dignity, out of a suspicion that you can’t trust America. America is not going to negotiate in good faith. It didn’t negotiate in good faith now, would be his point.”
Serious about Erasing Israel? ‘Waste of Time’ to Debate
Asked if he believed Iran was serious about its threats to destroy Israel, Kerry’s reply was that he “doesn’t know.”
“I think they have a fundamental ideological confrontation with Israel at this particular moment. Whether or not that translates into active steps to, quote, ‘Wipe it,’ you know… I don’t know the answer to that.”
On second thought, maybe Iran was not serious about its threats against Israel, because so far they have done nothing, he surmised. “I haven’t seen anything that says to me—they’ve got 80,000 rockets in Hezbollah pointed at Israel, and any number of choices could have been made. They didn’t make the bomb when they had enough material for 10 to 12. They’ve signed on to an agreement where they say they’ll never try and make one and we have a mechanism in place where we can prove that. So I don’t want to get locked into that debate. I think it’s a waste of time here.”
Neither was Kerry overly concerned, it seems, regarding Iran’s support of regional and global terror, including the bloody civil war in Syria, Hezbollah’s ongoing war against Israel and Hamas’ Iranian-funded terror activities in Gaza.
Opposition to the Deal is Emotional
Discussing Israel’s concerns, Kerry acknowledged that the Israeli public as a whole opposed the deal, “because there’s a huge level of fear and mistrust. and frankly, there’s an inherent sense that, given Iran’s gains and avoidance in the past, that somehow they’re going to avoid something again,” meaning that Israel fears Iran will cheat on the deal, as it has in the past.
Iranians burn a Israeli flag at Quds Day rally. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
However, these fears are merely emotional and not based on fact, the American diplomat continued. “It’s a visceral feeling, it’s very emotional and visceral and I’m very in tune with that and very sensitive to that.”
Regarding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s opposition to the deal, he offered a psychological analysis, saying, “I think Bibi, for years, has had an article of faith in his political makeup and his perception of Iran and the challenges that Israel faces. He has come to a conclusion about Iran that they will find any means, and do anything necessary, to follow through on their threats.”
Questioned about his own threats that Israel’s opposition to the nuclear deal would lead it to international isolation, Kerry said it was only a “warning.”
“If you’ve ever played golf, you know that you yell ‘fore’ off the tee. You’re not threatening somebody, you’re warning them: ‘Look, don’t get hit by the ball, it’s coming,’” he said.
By: United with Israel Staff
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