Israel and the United States launched attacks on Iran starting February 28, creating instability in the Middle East with global repercussions. Against this backdrop, former US Secretary of State John Kerry has commented on the Iran war.
He stated that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously proposed war against Iran to various US Presidents. However, he claims that all former presidents rejected those proposals.
John Kerry said, “Obama said no, Bush said no, and President Biden also said no. I was part of those discussions.”
He further stated that previous US administrations, instead of pursuing war with Iran, prioritized diplomatic and peaceful solutions, believing that all alternatives had not been properly considered.
At the same time, drawing on the experiences of the Vietnam and Iraq wars, he stated that a major lesson from these conflicts is that the public should not be misled about the war’s objectives. He warned, “The American people should not be lied to, and then asked to send their children to war.”
Sharing a video clip of John Kerry’s statement, Iran’s state media ‘Press TV’ wrote, ‘Former US Secretary of State John Kerry says Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu proposed war against Iran to Presidents Obama, Bush, and Biden. But they all rejected this proposal. The prediction was that there would be a regime change (in Iran) and people would rise up. But we have seen that nothing of the sort happened.’
A detailed report by The New York Times has revealed how Netanyahu persuaded US President Donald Trump to launch an attack on Iran alongside Israel.
The report stated, ‘On February 11, in the Situation Room, hawkish Netanyahu argued forcefully that now was the opportune time for regime change in Iran. He expressed confidence, saying that a joint operation by the US and Israel could ultimately lead to the downfall of the Islamic Republic.’
According to the report, Trump said, ‘That sounds good to me.’ Subsequently, he gave the green light for this joint aggression against Iran.
John Kerry stated that Netanyahu’s presentation was merely a ‘prediction.’ None of his claims about taking over the country or changing its regime were realized.
Another US news outlet, ‘Axios,’ reported that last month, there was a heated exchange between US Vice President J.D. Vance and Israel’s hawkish Prime Minister Netanyahu during a phone call. During the conversation, Vance sharply rebuked Netanyahu for his overly optimistic statements regarding the Iran war.
The news outlet stated that Vance pressed him on how confident Netanyahu was about the prospect of regime change.
An anonymous US official told Axios that before the war, Bibi (Netanyahu) presented the matter as very simple to the President. He claimed that there was a high probability of regime change in Iran. However, Vice President Vance was much more realistic and cautious about those claims.
Source: NDTV