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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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FACT BRIEF

Has there been corroboration of a report that John Kerry shared Israeli military secrets with Iran?

By Austin Tannenbaum
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NO

An assertion by Iran’s foreign minister that John Kerry shared Israeli military secrets with Iran has not been corroborated. Kerry, currently the Biden administration’s climate envoy, called the claim “unequivocally false.”

London-based broadcaster Iran International said it obtained leaked audio of the Iranian minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, stating that “Foreign Secretary John Kerry...told me Israel had launched more than 200 attacks on Iranian forces in Syria.”

The broadcaster said Zarif’s statement is “not very credible,” given other media reports about Israeli attacks in Syria dating back to 2017. In July 2017, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was heard on a hot mic stating that he had targeted Iran-backed Hezbollah in Syria “dozens of times.” A 2018 speech by an Israeli intelligence official confirmed that the country had conducted more than 200 attacks over two years.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Iran International Exclusive: Zarif claims Soleimani intervened In diplomacy, Russia wanted to destroy JCPOA
John Kerry Tweet responding to Iranian foreign minister assertions
Haaretz Netanyahu tells Eastern European leaders that Israel struck Hezbollah targets in Syria dozens of times in hot-mic remarks caught by reporters
Reuters Israel says it struck Iranian targets in Syria 200 times in last two years
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Gigafact
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.