President Donald Trump took aim at former Secretary of State John Kerry for engaging in surreptitious talks with Iranian and European diplomats as a private citizen in attempts to save the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, in a Monday tweet.
The United States does not need John Kerry’s possibly illegal Shadow Diplomacy on the very badly negotiated Iran Deal. He was the one that created this MESS in the first place!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 7, 2018
Kerry reportedly has engaged in private meetings with Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif to discuss the future of the nuclear deal. The former secretary of state’s conduct has come under scrutiny for possibly violating the Logan Act, which prohibits private citizens from negotiating with foreign governments in dispute with the U.S.
Trump is considering withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran in the coming weeks after refusing to certify the Islamic Republic’s compliance. The president has long railed against the deal as one of the worst ever negotiated by the U.S. and how it does not address issues of concern to the U.S., like Iran’s ballistic missile program and its eventual expiration.