Story highlights Kerry urged the new leadership to follow the Obama administration's course

He rejected the idea US standing in the world has taken a hit over the past eight years

Washington (CNN) Secretary of State John Kerry said he couldn't predict how Donald Trump's officials would act act once they take office -- and that they might not know either.

"Nobody can predict what choices (the Trump) administration is going to make," Kerry told reporters Thursday. "I don't know, and I don't think you know."

"I think the question a lot of people ask is, 'Do they know?' " he continued. "And we're going to have to wait and see what choices they make."

But Kerry was emphatic in his support for President Barack Obama's foreign policy vision, and urged the country's future leadership to follow the same course.

He defended, in particular, the international agreement he helped negotiate to curb Iran's nuclear program.

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