Keith Kellogg, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming Ukraine and Russia special envoy, called for a return to a “maximum pressure” policy against Iran on Saturday, aiming to push the country toward democracy.
Speaking at a Paris-based Iranian opposition event, he emphasized that pressure should be both economic and diplomatic, not just military, according to Reuters.
Kellogg stressed that the opportunity to improve Iran is fleeting and must be seized.
“We must exploit the weakness we now see. The hope is there, so must too be the action,” he told the audience at the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) event at the group’s headquarters in Auvers-sur-Oise on the northwestern outskirts of the French capital.
NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi also called for Western governments to support the Iranian people and abandon outdated policies, citing regional shifts against Iran’s leadership.
Trump has pledged to reinstate the policy from his previous term, which aimed to devastate Iran’s economy to compel the country to negotiate on its nuclear program, ballistic missile development and regional actions.
