Print this article A leaked recording of Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has prompted allegations that John Kerry gave classified information to Iran, but the former secretary of state’s most persuasive defense could depend on his willingness to explain whether he undercut former President Donald Trump’s "maximum pressure campaign" against Tehran. Zarif’s statement that Kerry notified him about “more than 200 attacks on Iranian forces in Syria” strikes some Republican lawmakers as an indication that Kerry betrayed Israeli secrets. Other observers, including the London-based Persian outlet that first published the audio, think it more likely that Zarif is referring to comments made during meetings after Kerry left office, when the Israeli barrages were well known — and the new U.S. administration suspected that their Democratic critics were encouraging Iranian officials to defy Trump’s use of economic sanctions to pressure them to begin negotiating a stricter nuclear deal.