Pompeo calls on Kerry to explain the alleged talks with Iran’s foreign minister

Former Foreign Minister Mike Pompeo On Tuesday, he said he was “disappointed” but was not surprised by the claims of his predecessor, John Kerry. A senior Iranian official informed Israeli operations in Syria – He said that Kerry should explain what he said or did not say.

“I was not surprised,” Pompeo said in an interview with Fox News Digital on Tuesday. But it reminded me that every leader has a special responsibility to defend his oath on the constitution, and when I heard the foreign minister [Javad] Zarif talks about the fact that he heard about the Israeli operations in Syria from a former US Secretary of State, it was really disappointing. “

The Iranian foreign minister said John Kerry told him about Israel’s coverage operations in Syria

Zarif said in a leaked audio clip he received The New York Times Others were surprised when Kerry revealed that Israel had attacked Iranian targets in Syria more than 200 times. It is not clear when the alleged conversation took place.

Kerry, who is President Biden’s special envoy on climate at the National Security Council, denied providing Iran with information about Israeli military operations and described the allegations as “clearly false.”

But Republican critics note that Kerry has long been indicted Formation of the posterior channels With the Iranians – even as the Trump administration pursued a policy of “maximum pressure” against Tehran and withdrew from the Iran deal backed by Kerry.

“We learned Secretary Kerry was talking to the Iranians,” Pompeo told Fox News. “Date.” We knew that the government, the previous government, was actively working on informing the Iranians. Look, the Trump administration’s extreme pressure campaign is waiting to end. ”

The Trump administration withdrew from the Iran deal and imposed waves of sanctions on Tehran. The Biden administration announced it would rejoin the deal and suspended efforts under Trump to reimpose UN sanctions on the system.

The State Department rejected the argument, saying the strikes were public at the time.

“I would like to point out in general terms that it was not a secret when I look at press reports at the time,” a State Department spokesman said on Monday, according to The Times. Participating governments spoke about this publicly and on an official basis. “

Although it is not clear when the conversation took place, Pompeo said the comments would never be appropriate since Iran is a major adversary.

He told Fox News Digital, “The timetable is important in light of the risks it may pose to Israeli operations or the operations of our allies and friends. But in general, there is no timetable for such a proper comment.” “From the words of Foreign Minister Zarif, it certainly seems that the timetable provided him with information before the time when the Iranians were able or that the Foreign Ministry was able to determine these measures.

John Kerry calls for an investigation into what he said to Iran

The number of Republicans He called for an investigation and even Kerry’s resignation. Pompeo said it was important for Kerry to at least explain what he was saying and when. Remember Kerry said earlier that he and Zarif only met a few times – but not how often.

He said: “It was very clear in his response to the number of meetings and did not mention how many times or how many times they spoke via phone, text message or e-mail.” “It will be important to understand the scope of the communication.”

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Pompeo also said the Allies were watching the controversy to see whether the United States could be trusted with important information.

“They are watching to see if they can trust the United States with regard to the information they provide us,” he said in the story. The American people need to know what happened. I hope the secretary calls and explains exactly what they talked about, how often he spoke to them, what information he might have on his phones, all the things that would help us understand what Secretary of State Zarif was talking to about Kerry. “