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Former U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry slammed President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the Iran nuclear deal at a Harvard Institute of Politics forum Thursday evening.
Kerry, who served under President Barack Obama and currently serves as Special Presidential Envoy for Climate in President Joe Biden’s administration, said the deal was “the strongest nuclear agreement that the United States has signed since the 1950s.”
“Trump pulling out of the Iran nuclear agreement, in my opinion, was one of the worst, most reckless, dangerous decisions of consequence in foreign policy,” Kerry said at the forum, moderated by IOP Director Setti D. Warren, who served as deputy state director under Kerry.
The 2015 deal, which Kerry helped draft, placed limits on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the reduction of U.S. sanctions. The agreement was supported by all five members of the United Nations Security Council before Trump abandoned the deal in 2018.
“You’re not going to resolve what is happening in the Middle East without getting into a major negotiation,” Kerry said.
“I do think there is an opportunity to pull away from the precipice,” he added.
At the forum, Kerry also said that while he supports a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack likely delayed a lasting deal.
“That attack by the Palestinians was the most depraved, craven, misogynistic, evil, racist, reign of terror in one day that I’ve ever witnessed,” Kerry said.
“That trauma runs deep, and I don’t think it allows you the same easy approach to say, ‘Oh, there’s gonna be a state and it’s gonna be there tomorrow,’” Kerry added. “It’s gonna take time now.”
Addressing his role as climate envoy, Kerry said he has come to believe the world is “on the brink of needing to declare a climate emergency” but said that if countries stick to emissions goals set at COP28 — the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference — they could “win this battle.”
Kerry said he doubts Trump’s commitment to addressing climate change, referencing Trump’s “drill, baby, drill” campaign slogan on fracking.
“Right now, we’re running into a resurgence of denialism, a resurgence of greed, a resurgence of lies,” Kerry said.
He said that to climate change should be linked to economic benefits for citizens.
“We’ve got to start talking about the economics and point out how life will be better — not just on the planet, but in the United States of America — if we have cleaner air and less health problems created by particulates that flow around through the air,” Kerry said.
“What you need to do is just build the structure where people are learning how bright the future looks on the other side of this transition,” he added.
