WASHINGTON: Former US Secretary of State John Kerry has said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had, over the years, urged multiple American administrations to consider military action against Iran, but each time the proposal was turned down.
The comments came during his appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where Kerry essentially pulled back the curtain on how Washington has handled Iran over the years, pointing to a clear pattern of US presidents choosing restraint over escalation.
Kerry said he had been part of those discussions himself, recalling, “Obama said no. Bush said no. President Biden said no. I mean, I was part of those conversations.” He indicated that the refusal stemmed from a shared view that diplomatic avenues had not been fully explored before considering military options.
According to Kerry, leaders in Washington held back from conflict because they believed peaceful measures had not been exhausted. He said choices of that magnitude cannot be rushed, especially when past wars have shown how costly such decisions can be.
Drawing from his own experience as a Vietnam War veteran, Kerry pointed to the lessons of both Vietnam and Iraq, stressing the importance of honesty with the public before committing to war. “And speaking as a veteran of the Vietnam War, where decisions like that were so critical, we were lied to about what that war was about, and the lesson of that war and of Iraq is don’t lie to the American people and then ask them to send their sons and daughters to fight,” he said.
The former diplomat also rejected the Israeli leader’s projections about political upheaval in Iran. He described Netanyahu’s arguments as speculative, noting that predictions of internal revolt or a shift in power did not come to pass.
Kerry said expectations around “regime change” failed to materialise, casting doubt on the assumptions used to justify potential military action.
However, a report by The New York Times suggested that Netanyahu encountered a more receptive stance during Donald Trump’s presidency. At a meeting in the Situation Room on February 11, the Israeli Prime Minister reportedly made a strong case for action, arguing that Iran was “ripe for regime change”.
The report said Netanyahu conveyed a firm “belief that a joint U.S.-Israeli mission could finally bring an end to the Islamic Republic”. Trump’s reported response, “Sounds good to me,” indicated initial backing for the proposal.
Despite that early support, the plan appears to have faced pushback within the administration. According to Axios, US Vice President JD Vance later held a tense exchange with Netanyahu, questioning what he described as overly optimistic assumptions about the conflict.
A US official told the outlet, “Before the war, Bibi really sold it to the president as being easy, as regime change being a lot likelier than it was. And the VP was clear-eyed about some of those statements.”
Agencies