Report: Kerry met with Iranian foreign minister to salvage Iran deal

In a bid to save the Iran nuclear deal, John Kerry “engaged in some unusual shadow diplomacy with a top-ranking Iranian official,” namely Zarif.

By: World Israel News Staff

According to a Boston Globe report, former US Secretary of State John Kerry met recently with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in an effort to salvage the Iran nuclear deal.

US President Donald Trump has consistently stressed his goal to “fix or nix” the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), otherwise known as the nuclear agreement, which the Obama administration signed with Iran in 2015 along with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany.

In a presentation at the Ministry of Defense complex in Tel Aviv Monday evening, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu exposed a half-ton of incriminating evidence from Israel’s intelligence agency that Iran lied and continues to lie about its nuclear weapons program.

As the May 12 deadline approaches for Trump to decide on whether or not to abandon the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, otherwise known as the Iran nuclear deal, Netanyahu said he was certain that US President Donald Trump will “do the right thing for the United States, for Israel and for the peace of the world.”

The Globe reported on Friday that two weeks ago, Kerry, the main negotiator in the deal, “in a bid to save one of his most significant accomplishments,” met Zarif two Sundays ago in an effort to salvage the agreement.

Kerry “engaged in some unusual shadow diplomacy with a top-ranking Iranian official,” the Globe said.

“It was the second time in about two months that the two had met to strategize over salvaging” the deal, “according to a person briefed on the meetings,” the Globe added.

Kerry also recently met on separate occasions with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and French President Emmanuel Macron as well as discussing the issue by phone with European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, the source told the Globe. He has also lobbied congressmen, placing dozens of phone calls, the source said.