recording obtained by the New York Times and Iran International that the Revolutionary Guard Corps and the country’s supreme leader kept him in the dark about government negotiations and military operations, and that he was receiving intel from Kerry.

“It was former US Foreign Secretary John Kerry who told me Israel had launched more than 200 attacks on Iranian forces in Syria,” he said.

Zarif made the comments in a March interview with an Iranian journalist that wasn’t supposed to be released until August, when President Hassan Rouhani leaves office.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said he recieved intel from John Kerry during Donald Trump’s presidency.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said he received intel from John Kerry during Donald Trump’s presidency.
AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images

It’s unclear whether Kerry tipped off Zarif while secretary of state, or out of office. Zarif met with Kerry and Obama administration Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz when Donald Trump was in the White House, which Kerry admitted to in 2018.

Kerry denied discussing the Israeli targets with the Iranian foreign minister.

“I can tell you that this story and these allegations are unequivocally false. This never happened – either when I was Secretary of State or since,” he said in a post on Twitter.

Kerry and Moniz were instrumental in negotiating the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and global powers.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that it was “John Kerry who told me Israel had launched more than 200 attacks on Iranian forces in Syria.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that it was “John Kerry who told me Israel had launched more than 200 attacks on Iranian forces in Syria.”
Alex Wong/Getty Images

Kerry said he met with Zarif and other Iranian officials in an effort to salvage the nuclear agreement.

Trump later that month slammed Kerry for his “shadow diplomacy,” saying the Obama administration officials are who got the US into “this mess” in the first place.
Iraq’s President Barham Salih (right) speaks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during their meeting on April 26, 2021.
Iraq’s President Barham Salih (right) speaks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during their meeting on April 26, 2021.
AFP via Getty Images

​“The United States does not need John Kerry’s possibly illegal Shadow Diplomacy on the very badly negotiated Iran Deal. He was the one that created this MESS in the first place!,” Trump posted on Twitter​ after reports surfaced about Kerry’s talks with the Iranians.
Thousands of Iranians take to the streets to mourn the death of Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Lieutenant general and commander of the Quds Force Qasem Soleimani
Thousands of Iranians take to the streets to mourn the death of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Lt. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force.
EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH

He pulled the US out of the pact days later.​

Kerry at the time defended the nuclear deal.

“I think every American would want every voice possible urging Iran to remain in compliance with the nuclear agreement that prevented a war,” ​he said in a statement.
Damage is shown at the Ain al-Asad US airbase in western Iraq, after being hit by rockets from Iran.
Damage at the Ain al-Asad US airbase in western Iraq after being hit by rockets from Iran.
Planet Labs Inc. /AFP via Getty Images

“Secretary Kerry stays in touch with his former counterparts around the world just like every previous Secretary of State. Like America’s closest allies, he believes it is important that the nuclear agreement, which took the world years to negotiate, remain effective as countries focus on stability in the region.”​​
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in Tehran, Iran.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in Tehran, Iran.
KHAMENEI.IR/AFP via Getty Images

Trump in May 2019 accused Kerry of violating federal law by siding with Iran over US interests — and said he should be prosecuted for it.

“You know, John Kerry speaks to them a lot. John Kerry tells them not to call. That’s a violation of the Logan Act, and frankly he should be prosecuted on that,” Trump said at the time.