Former US Secretary of State John Kerry said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had repeatedly proposed military action against Iran to previous US presidents, but had been rejected, the Israeli newspaper "Jerusalem Post" reported, quoted by BTA.
In an interview with "MS Now" John Kerry said that Netanyahu had presented attack plans to George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, who did not approve them. He claims that only current President Donald Trump gave his consent.
Kerry referred to a report in the "New York Times" according to which Netanyahu convinced Trump that an attack on Iran could weaken Tehran's military capabilities and lead to regime change.
"Prime Minister Netanyahu presented basically four points: that they could kill the leadership, cause regime change, destroy the military forces, etc. [...] Well, they've clearly inflicted heavy losses on the military, probably sunk most of the fleet, our guys are good at it...", said the former Secretary of State, adding: "But the fact is, there was no immediate threat."
He also criticized Trump's decision to withdraw from the nuclear deal with Iran, negotiated under Obama, saying it had undermined Tehran's trust in Washington.
"Iran now feels it can't trust the United States," Kerry stressed, adding that he believed there was an opportunity for diplomatic dialogue before resorting to military action.