![Kerry with Iranian officials [image courtesy State Dept wikimedia commons]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2018/5/4/660x290/b_502x220x82/kerry-with-iranian-officials-image-courtesy-state-dept-wikimedia-commons_1972305.jpg "Kerry with Iranian officials [image courtesy State Dept wikimedia commons]")
It seems that former Secretary of State John Kerry has been colluding (though the term conspiring also comes to mind) with officials of foreign powers, including Iran, to try to preserve the Iranian nuclear arms deal that he helped to craft. The effort, on its face, seems to be mainly brazen coming as it does in the wake of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netaynahu’s revelation that the deal was a sham from day one. Still, it seems that Kerry had to try to preserve the tattered legacy of his and his former boss President Barack Obama’s signature foreign policy legacy.
What about the Logan Act?
As Hot Air suggests, what Kerry has been doing is a flagrant violation of the Logan Act, a late 18th Century law that prohibits private citizens from doing diplomacy without government sanction. However, as Shakespeare would say, the law has been honored more in the breach than the observance. No one has ever been convicted of violating the act in the history of the American republic, even though numerous people have been guilty of it. Kerry is likely to come into some ridicule and a lot of shaming, but will not see the inside of a jail cell, even though he colluded with a regime that has vowed to destroy not only Israel but the United States.
What happens now?
Rumor has it that President Trump has all but decided to withdraw from the nuclear arms deal and to impose heavy sanctions against the Iranian regime.
A military strike to destroy the weapons program cannot be ruled out. Ironically, the revelation of Kerry’s alleged illegal actions will make that decision easier. The things that irritate President Trump constitutes a long list, but people trying to undermine him behind his back is close to the top.
Trump diplomacy
Trump, who has scored a fantastic diplomatic triumph in Korea, has proven himself to be a much cannier player on the world stage that anyone in the previous administration.
He has already gotten Kim Jong-un to promise to bring an official end to the Korean War and to give up nuclear weapons. To be sure, much depends on follow through and whether or not Kim is serious. However, Trump has proven that his brand of insult diplomacy can work against an insecure tyrant, especially when backed up by military power and economic sanctions.
Whether or not the same strategy can be applied toward Iran remains to be seen. In any case, the Iranian people have gotten more restive against the theocratic regime and seem eager to throw off its tyranny and free their country. That development would seem to present an opportunity.
