There’s a Wacky Rumor About John Kerry’s Bike Accident

[PurplePuppy]

There’s a Wacky Rumor About John Kerry’s Bike Accident


Some Iranian news outlets are claiming that Secretary of State John Kerry was injured this weekend not in Switzerland in a bicycle crash but rather in an assassination attempt during a secret meeting with Islamic State group representatives.

The Jerusalem Post reported Wednesday that the Iranian news agency Nasim posted a report on the claim that the alleged secret meeting Sunday culminated in an armed clash and an attempt to kill the top U.S. diplomat.
Secretary of State John Kerry arrives for a signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding with Tunisian Minister of Political Affairs Mohsen Marzouk at Blair House, the presidential guest house, on May 20, 2015 in Washington, DC. (Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

Secretary of State John Kerry arrives for a signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding with Tunisian Minister of Political Affairs Mohsen Marzouk at Blair House, the presidential guest house, May 20, 2015 in Washington. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

The conspiracy theory was cloaked in an aura of international intrigue with plot twists connecting Switzerland, France, Russia and a U.S.-trained Islamic State loyalist from Tajikistan, which the Jerusalem Post described as follows:

Kerry’s meeting, in which the alleged assassination attempt took place, was with Gulmurod Khalimov, a senior Tajik police commander, trained in the United States, who announced his defection to Islamic State in a video released last week, the [Iranian news site] report states.

Having received training from the US State Department previously, Khalimov was well aware of State Department security procedures and he used the knowledge to get another member of his entourage into the secret meeting with Kerry, with the intention of assassinating him, the report claims.

The Nasim news site – which noted its report was based on another website that claims to cite Russian intelligence reports – quoted an alleged secret message transmitted from France and then intercepted by Russian intelligence which conveyed the report that two others were shot during the altercation, killing one.

The Jerusalem Post noted that though the story was first posted by Nasim, it was later picked up by dozens of Iranian news sites.

Kerry was in Geneva this weekend for meetings with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif just weeks before a self-imposed deadline to secure a permanent agreement between Iran, the U.S. and five world powers over Iran’s nuclear program.

U.S. officials said Kerry’s injury would not stop him from participating in the negotiations.

Iranian media often put forth far-fetched conspiracy theories, such as last year when an Iranian news site alleged that Israel was engaged in a “dangerous global plot” to spread the Israeli martial art Krav Maga internationally.


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[J.J.Gibbs]

Ten days later, why no pictures of John Kerry?

By Pete Kasperowicz | June 9, 2015 | 2:04 pm


The State Department on Tuesday had no explanation for why it hasn't released any photograph or video of Secretary John Kerry while he recuperates in Massachusetts General Hospital, after he broke his leg while cycling in France last month.



Spokesman Jeff Rathke was asked when Kerry might appear in public, after he's been completely out of the public eye for 10 days.



"I don't have any update on his schedule of that sort," Rathke said. "He remains in the hospital and is doing physical therapy and is in consultation with his doctors, but I don't have an announcement about dates or timelines."



"There hasn't been a photograph, he hasn't shown his face anywhere," AP reporter Matt Lee said. Lee also suggested that State should release a short video showing Kerry, since he's still the secretary of state despite his injury.



"I understand the interest, and I'm sure that before too long, that will also come," Rathke said.


But when pressed again on whether State is taking steps to release a picture or video, Rathke dodged.



"As I said in response to Matt's question, I think, you know, I think that will come," Rathke said. "I note the interest, I appreciate it, I understand the reasons, so uh, um, but we'll ... when we have something to release we certainly will."



Rathke seemed to waffle even more when asked if Kerry would be able to go to Europe later this summer to conclude the Iran nuclear negotiations.



"He's going to go through his recovery process, you know, aggressively but responsibly," Rathke said. "I don't have a further time prediction to affix to that. That's something that he and his doctors will have to ... keep under review. So I don't have a timeline."



When one reporter said that sounded like an admission that Kerry might not make it to Europe, Rathke insisted he was not trying to walk back State's earlier claim that Kerry would "absolutely" get back to Europe in time.



Lee, the AP reporter, ended the back-and-forth with an appeal to State to make some picture of Kerry available. Lee said Kerry should be able to return to his Massachusetts home by now if he just had a broken leg and just needed crutches to get around, and said the absence of any picture is allowing wild conspiracy theories to spread about Kerry's health.



"These questions are not ... completely unfounded questions to be asking," Lee said.


 

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