Defense
Associated Press/Frank Augstein
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry listens during a panel discussion at the Anti-Corruption Summit in London, Thursday, May 12, 2016.
- President Donald Trump blasted former Secretary of State John Kerry for his continued work on the Iran deal on Tuesday.
- He said that the former diplomat was "hurting" his country.
- Kerry has taken the unusual step of meeting with foreign diplomats to shore up the deal behind the scenes right after exiting office in 2017.
- Trump is set to announce the fate of the deal at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
President Donald Trump blasted former Secretary of State John Kerry for his efforts to save the Iran deal on Tuesday, accusing him of "hurting your country."
The attack came hours before Trump has said he will announce the fate of the deal.
"John Kerry can't get over the fact that he had his chance and blew it! Stay away from negotiations John, you are hurting your country!" Trump tweeted.
The Boston Globe reported last week that Kerry had been meeting with world leaders in an effort to save the Iran nuclear deal ahead of its May 12 renewal deadline.
Kerry reportedly met with European leaders and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in an attempt to shore up the deal as Trump publicly denounces it, and sources say he's close to scrapping it.
Michael O'Hanlon, a foreign policy expert at the Brookings Institution, told The Globe: "It is unusual for a former secretary of state to engage in foreign policy like this, as an actual diplomat and quasi-negotiator.
"Of course, former secretaries of state often remain quite engaged with foreign leaders, as they should, but it's rarely so issue-specific, especially when they have just left office."
The Iran deal, an initiative from Barack Obama's White House, was unpopular when it was first implemented, and Trump campaigned explicitly on tearing up the deal.
Trump is set to make an announcement on the fate of the deal on Tuesday at 2 p.m. East Coast time.