U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday lambasted his predecessor, John Kerry, for meetings with Iranian officials in back-channel talks and accused him of “actively undermining” the Trump administration’s policy toward Tehran. The FBI should investigate Tehran John for colluding with enemy Iran. The venerable agency cannot investigate selectively for political considerations.
Pompeo told a news conference:
What Secretary Kerry has done is unseemly and unprecedented. [He] ought not to engage in that kind of behavior. It’s inconsistent with what the foreign policy of the United States is, as directed by this president. It is beyond inappropriate.
Pompeo’s sharp criticism of Kerry comes a day after President Donald Trump accused the former secretary of state of “illegal” meetings on Iran in a late-night tweet.
John Kerry had illegal meetings with the very hostile Iranian Regime, which can only serve to undercut our great work to the detriment of the American people. He told them to wait out the Trump Administration! Was he registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act? BAD!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 14, 2018
Worst Deal in America’s History
Trump withdrew the United States from a nuclear deal that Kerry clinched in 2015 between Iran and six world powers, which encouraged Iran to spread mayhem and terror in the Middle East. Lately, the Trump administration has pushed a hard line against Tehran, which it accuses of expanding its influence in the Middle East through support for proxy armed groups in countries such as Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.
Kerry Admits Colluding with Iran
Kerry, in a radio interview with Fox News as part of a book tour, said he had met with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif “three or four times” since the end of his term in January 2017. The FBI should investigate Tehran John for colluding with enemy Iran.
This week, during interviews, Kerry accused the Trump administration of pursuing a policy of regime change in Iran. Tehran John agrees with Iranian terror.
Pompeo pushed back:
“This is a former secretary of state engaged with the world’s largest state sponsor of terror …,” Pompeo said, adding: “He was telling them to wait out this administration. You can’t find precedent for this in U.S. history.”
Is that you Barack Obama manhandling Tehran John like a marionette?
Reuters contributed to this article.
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