GOP Hammers John Kerry on 'Disqualifying Recklessness' over Leaked Audio

Republicans voiced their concerns Monday about a report of a leaked audiotape of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif asserting President Biden’s current climate czar and former Secretary of State, John Kerry, allegedly shared with him that Israel had attacked Iranian interests in Syria at least 200 times.

“If this tape is verified, it would signal catastrophic and disqualifying recklessness by Envoy Kerry to Foreign Minister Zarif that endangered the safety of Americans and our allies,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) stated in a press release.

“And it would be consistent with his long pattern of empowering Iran’s regime,” Cruz continued.

“People are talking about treason — and I don’t throw that word around a lot,” Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) told Politico. “John Kerry does all kinds of things that I can’t stand. But this is the one that broke the camel’s back.”

“You don’t want your climate envoy undermining your closest ally in the region,” added Sen. Todd Young (R-IN). “Hopefully he’ll be explaining himself soon.”

“It’s unfathomable that any U.S. diplomat, past or present, would leak intelligence to the world’s leading sponsors of terrorism at the expense of one of our staunchest allies,” exclaimed Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI).

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) said, “Biden should revoke Kerry’s access to classified information while the matter is looked into,” Politico reported.

John Kerry defended himself on Twitter Monday night, “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.”

The reported leaked communication primarily focuses on “Zarif’s description of his rivalry with the influential and widely revered Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, the late commander of the Guards’ elite Quds Force who the U.S. killed in early 2020,” Breitbart News reported.

When the State Department was asked about the alleged conversations between Kerry and Zarif, spokesperson Ned Price declined to comment on the authenticity and accuracy of the Iranian official’s claims.

“It was former U.S. Foreign Secretary John Kerry who told me Israel had launched more than 200 attacks on Iranian forces in Syria,” Zarif presumably said in leaked audio.

The presumable leak comes amid the Biden administration attempting to reenter the nuclear deal that former President Donald Trump canceled due to Iranian noncompliance.