Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave his support to President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal and vowed to impose even stricter sanctions against the Middle Eastern country, Newsweek reported.
The State Secretary slammed Iran’s Revolutionary Shiite Muslim government for putting unfrozen funds to use when it stated it will end its nuclear production and support of militant organizations abroad, which include U.S.-designated terror organizations like the Lebanese Shiite Muslim – Hezbollah, and Sunni Muslim Jihadis such as Al-Qaeda, Palestinian Hamas, and Afghan Taliban.
Speaking at a Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington, D.C., Pompeo addressed Iran in a question, as he listed some of the aforementioned foreign groups charged with supporting Tehran.
“Is this what you want your country to be known for?” Pompeo asked. “The United States believes you deserve better,” he continued.
“This is just the beginning,” Pompeo said. “The sting of sanctions will be painful. These will be the strongest sanctions in history when complete.”
The Trump administration branded Iran “the world’s largest sponsor of terror” and earlier this month officially withdrew the U.S. from the nuclear agreement negotiated under Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama. The deal, known officially as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was also signed by China, France, Germany, Russia and the U.K.—all of whom urged the U.S. not to leave the deal and have since taken steps to try to salvage the deal in Washington’s absence.
Facing an unprecedented wave of sanctions, Iran has threatened to restart its nuclear program, which it has always maintained was for peaceful purposes only. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi told reporters Monday that Tehran would continue discussions with European leaders, but talks would be limited strictly to the Iranian nuclear program and not other topics uncovered by the original deal.
“We will not have any negotiations [on issues] other than the nuclear deal. The European leaders are very wise and know to discuss which topics with Iran,” Qasemi said, according to Iran’s semiofficial Fars News Agency. He said the Trump administration had demonstrated it was “not capable” of being negotiated with after reneging on its commitments.
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