McCain: Kerry ‘a human wrecking ball’ on Iran

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Thursday called Secretary of State John Kerry “a human wrecking ball” on Iran negotiations.

{mosads}At the Washington Ideas Forum, McCain said he is “very disappointed” with the Obama administration for how it has handled the situation with Iran. The Aspen Institute hosts the event. 

McCain added Kerry “is a good friend of mine.”

On Wednesday, Kerry was on Capitol Hill urging lawmakers to hold off on new sanctions for Iran. Kerry was in Geneva last weekend to lead the U.S. delegation on the P5+1 talks with Iran over its nuclear program. The negotiations, however, failed because Iran walked away from the deal, Kerry said.

Despite pressure from the Obama administration, McCain has called for additional sanctions against Iran’s government as a way to precipitate a deal more favorable to Western nations and Israel.

McCain said he was “told yesterday that Secretary Kerry refused to give any details of the negotiations. … And yet at the same time (he) wants to rely on our good will,” CNN reported.

Kerry’s strategy of flying around the world at a moment’s notice, McCain said, is surprising.

“Fly into Riyadh and talk to the king of Saudi Arabia. Fly into Egypt and praise their steps toward democracy,” he said. “Henry Kissinger didn’t fly around the world with a fire hose.” Kissinger served as secretary of State under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.

“Our whole policy in the Middle East — and it reverberates around the world, by the way — is in such disarray that I have never seen anything like it in my lifetime.”