Former US Secretary of State John Kerry has said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously suggested military action against Iran to several American leaders, but the idea was rejected each time.
Speaking on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Kerry said that multiple US administrations chose not to move ahead with such plans. He added that the matter had come up in internal discussions over the years.
“Obama said no. Bush said no. President Biden said no. I mean, I was part of those conversations,” he said.
Former Presidents believed diplomacy not fully explored
Kerry explained that past US presidents were unwilling to consider war with Iran because they believed diplomatic options had not been fully explored.
He also referred to his experience as a Vietnam War veteran, using it to highlight the importance of honesty with the public before military action.
“And speaking as a veteran of the Vietnam War, where decisions like that were so critical, we were lied to about what that war was about, and the lesson of that war and of Iraq is don't lie to the American people and then ask them to send their sons and daughters to fight,” Kerry stated.
Kerry further said that Netanyahu’s arguments about possible outcomes, including internal unrest and leadership change in Iran, did not match what actually happened. He described these expectations as a “prediction”, saying the expected “regime change” did not take place.
Trump’s nod to Netanyahu’s idea
Notably, as per a report by The New York Times, Netanyahu said during a high-level meeting with Trump that Iran was “ripe for regime change”. The US President also signalled his support for the idea.
A report by Axios said US Vice President JD Vance had a tense exchange with Netanyahu, where he raised doubts about the assumptions behind the strategy.
