Only Trump said yes to striking Iran: John Kerry reveals Netanyahu’s former failed pleas

In a candid and revealing interview on The Briefing, former US Secretary of State John Kerry shed new light on the persistent efforts of ‘Israeli’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to draw the United States into a direct military conflict with Iran.

According to Kerry, Netanyahu’s "four-point pitch" for war spanned three successive US administrations, but found its only receptive audience in President Donald Trump.

Kerry, who served as the chief architect of the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal (JCPOA) under Barack Obama, described a decade of intense diplomatic pressure from Tel Aviv.

He revealed that Netanyahu had personally and repeatedly appealed to Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and even George W. Bush to authorize a preemptive strike on Iranian nuclear and military facilities.

“Well, I was part of any number of conversations with Prime Minister Netanyahu, conversations that took place in other countries,” Kerry said.

“Yes, he wanted us to strike. He came to President Obama, he made a presentation to ask to strike. President Obama refused. President Biden refused. President Bush refused. The only president who has agreed to this obviously is President Trump.”

Kerry said that while previous presidents viewed military action as a last resort, the Trump administration embraced Netanyahu’s vision of "regime change" and total military dismantlement.

"If you push them too hard into a corner—if you drop the bombs before there’s a decision to be made—it’s entirely possible these folks... may just say: 'To hell with them,'" Kerry warned.

The dynamic shifted dramatically with the return of Donald Trump. Kerry pointed to the recent strikes on February 28 as the culmination of Netanyahu's long-standing persuasion efforts.

Trump's decision to launch the attack was influenced by a presentation from Netanyahu that seemingly aligned with the US president.

Kerry lamented the loss of diplomatic leverage, stating, “[Trump] pulled out of the agreement, without making a bona fide effort over a period of time to try to change the dynamics. He didn’t put ideas on the table. He didn’t bring the teams together.”

“If he had things that he really disagreed with, he had an ability to be able to try to change those. And he always had time to be able to bomb if that’s what he ultimately wanted to do, or if that’s ultimately what Prime Minister Netanyahu persuaded him to do.”