"If we become super provocative in ways that show the Iranian people there has
been no advantage to this, that there is no gain, and our bellicosity is pushing
them into a corner, that’s dangerous and that could bring a very different
result,” AP quoted him as saying in San Francisco at a fundraiser for
Ploughshares Fund.
He also said that the Iran nuclear deal could hold even if President Donald
Trump pulls out.
The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved in May the most sweeping
sanctions against Iran since the nuclear deal was reached in 2015.
The Trump administration has supported new sanctions against Iran, which were
approved 18 to 3 by the committee.
The measure is claimed to be punishing Iran over its ballistic missile program,
alleged support for terrorism and human rights violations.
Elsewhere, Kerry said that there is a view that seems to dominate the Trump
administration that "the U.S. can do anything that it needs to do all by itself”
and he urged those in attendance to do more to fight for the government to
recognize the value of diplomacy.