R.I.P. Scout26
From the Free Beacon:Leaked audiotape of Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif indicates he had no knowledge of covert Israeli military strikes before former secretary of state John Kerry provided him with the information, new details that contradict the State Department’s recent defense of Kerry.These details are likely to further fuel calls from leading Republicans for Kerry’s firing or resignation. The New York Times reported that Zarif said on the tape that Kerry told him Israel launched 200 airstrikes against Iranian interests in Syria. The Times did not provide further details on that issue. But an independent translation of the audiotape commissioned by the Washington Free Beacon shows that Zarif went on to clarify that he had no prior knowledge of these Israeli strikes before Kerry told him.“Kerry told me that Israel had launched 200 airstrikes against you [Iran],” said Zarif. “You didn’t know?” asked his interviewer. “No, no,” he replied.These new details contradict top State Department officials, who have repeatedly said the information was already in the public domain and not classified.
It doesn't surprise me a bit. However, I am wondering why Iran is making it public? Were they looking for more money?
The U.S. has denied reports of a prisoner swap deal with Iran that would have resulted in the release of $7 billion in frozen Iranian funds.The initial report broke Sunday on Lebanese pro-Iranian TV channel Al Mayadeen, claiming that U.S. and Iranian officials had agreed to the exchange.Iran would have released four Americans accused of spying in exchange for four Iranian prisoners in the U.S., as well as the frozen $7 billion, according to Reuters.The story cited an unnamed Iranian official, but a State Department spokesman told Fox News that no deal has been struck."Reports that a prisoner swap deal has been reached are not true," spokesman Ned Price told Fox News. "As we have said, we always raise the cases of Americans detained or missing in Iran."We will not stop until we are able to reunite them with their families."
Cough, coughThe underlined strongly implies, to me at least, that they just haven't finalized it yet. US denies report of Iran prisoner swap deal, release of $7B in frozen fundshttps://www.foxnews.com/world/us-denies-report-iran-prisoner-swap-7-billion
Joe Parkinson@JoeWSJShocking to hear that the First Secretary of Switzerland's embassy in Iran has died after "falling from a balcony." We wrote about the Swiss embassy's vital role as a backchannel between Tehran and the Washington here: https://wsj.com/articles/swiss-back-channel-helped-defuse-u-s-iran-crisis-11578702290
Could be related A senior Swiss diplomat has reportedly ‘fallen’ to her death from her high-rise apartment in Tehranhttps://twitchy.com/gregp-3534/2021/05/04/a-senior-swiss-diplomat-has-reportedly-fallen-to-her-death-from-her-high-rise-apartment-in-tehran/
In a shocking finding from our FOIA lawsuit, we unearthed that former Obama-Biden officials were conducting secret meetings with Iran during the time that President Trump was in office. It’s outrageous & shocking. Read our article here: https://t.co/COJXwygRRB — Jay Sekulow (@JaySekulow) May 26, 2022
That and get a rope