Iranian refugee and former Trump official Ellie Cohanim slammed John Kerry on Wednesday, calling the former Secretary of State’s back-door meetings with Iran during Trump’s presidency “anti-American” and an attempt to alter the government’s positions on foreign policy. to undermine.
Speaking on “Fox and Friends”, the former State Department Special Envoy called the Biden government’s talks with Iran to rejoin the nuclear deal “diplomatic malpractice” and urged them to to stop making unilateral concessions and instead increase demands on the Iranian regime.
“What exactly did John Kerry tell them – just ignore America until we’re back in power?” Cohanim said. “It’s pretty incredible.”
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Cohanim said the Trump administration’s maximum pressure campaign to hold the Iranians accountable was one of the regime’s strongest in U.S. history and has brought the country to its weakest point in 43 years.
The former Trump official pointed to Iran’s economic downturn, mishandling of the coronavirus and civil unrest as evidence that the country is on the verge of collapse.
Biden government officials, including John Kerry and Robert Malley, met with Iranian Secretary of State Javad Zarif during the Trump administration that were orchestrated to undermine President Biden’s predecessor, a recent report by The Washington Times claimed.
Zarif met with veterans of the Obama administration who could return to power “to devise a political strategy to undermine the Trump administration” and usher in softer diplomacy between the US and Iran.
Kerry, who is now President Biden’s top climate envoy, was forthright about meeting Zarif at least twice during the Trump administration, prompting Trump to say he should be prosecuted under the Logan Act.
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Meanwhile, Republicans are criticizing Biden’s decision to give up Trump-era pressure to re-impose United Nations sanctions on Iran, as the government appears to be taking a lighter approach to the regime.
Fox News’ Evie Fordham contributed to this report.