Mike Pompeo
“We are acting against a complex scheme Iran and Russia have used to bolster the [Bashar] Assad regime and generate funds for Iranian malign activity,” said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
With an alleged human-rights violation in the public spotlight, the kingdom’s allies may now try to distance themselves from its leadership.
“Those leaders aren’t from a Disney movie. They’re real. They’re not tragically misunderstood. They are murderers and funders of terrorism,” said U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Iranian official Assadollah Assadi, 46, who worked in disguise as a diplomat, was extradited to Belgium to face trial for his role in a thwarted terrorist plot to bomb a political rally in France on June 30.
After identifying Iran as the “origin” of threats against Americans in Iraq, Pompeo explained, “Our intelligence in this regard is solid. We can see the hand of the Ayatollah and his henchmen supporting these attacks on the United States.”
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warns that countries, especially in Europe, have already seen the ramifications of engaging with the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.
“The creation of the Iran Action Group indicates that the Trump administration seeks to mobilize all of Washington’s institutional resources to advance its maximum pressure campaign against the regime in Iran,” Tzvi Kahn, senior Iran Analyst at FDD, told JNS.
U.S. President Donald Trump lashes back at Iran President Hassan Rouhani after the leader threatens America in no uncertain terms.
“Appointing this important position will make clear to foreign governments that combating anti-Semitism remains an American priority and that the U.S. maintains its traditional leadership in the fight,” according to a congressional letter.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s core demands of Iran are not unique to the Trump administration. They are demands that have made Iran an international pariah: “This sort of behavior has been exhibited by Iran in some ways since the regime was conceived in 1979,” says Behnam Ben Taleblu, an Iran analyst with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
“The people of Iran should stand united in the face of this, and they will deliver a strong punch to the mouth of the American Secretary of State and anyone who backs them,” said Ismail Kowsari.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the start of Israel’s Cabinet meeting: “Today, we will welcome U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a true friend of Israel. ... I will discuss with him developments in the region, Iran’s growing aggression, and, of course, the nuclear agreement with Iran, about which there will be a decision soon.”
