U.S. Threatens Iran With ‘Direct Action’
WASHINGTON (Dispatches) – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo threatened Iran on Friday, telling CNN that Washington will take direct action against Tehran if U.S. interests came under attack in the Middle East.
"We have told the Islamic Republic of Iran that using a proxy force to attack an American interest will not prevent us from responding against the prime actor," Pompeo said. "We will not let Iran get away with using a proxy force to attack an American interest; Iran will be held accountable for those incidents."
Asked if that meant militarily, Pompeo said, "they're going to be held accountable."
The top U.S. diplomat was speaking in the wake of early September rocket attacks that appeared to target U.S. missions in Iraq, including in an area that houses the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
The White House said in a Sept. 11 statement that "Iran did not act to stop these attacks by its proxies in Iraq, which it has supported with funding, training and weapons."
Iran's Foreign Ministry responded on September 12 with a statement that called the U.S. claims "astonishing, provocative, and irresponsible."
Pompeo on Friday described Iran as the world's largest state sponsor of terror for supporting the Lebanese Hezbollah and "Makateeb Hezbollah”, a fictitious group which nobody has ever heard of.
He added that if Iran is "responsible for the arming and training of these militias, we're gonna go to the source."
Tensions between Iran and the U.S. have increased over the last year after President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the international nuclear pact that gave Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.
In the months since, the administration has rolled out a pressure campaign focused on "neutralizing" Iran's influence in the region. Pompeo delivered a speech in May that laid out 12 U.S. demands for Iran to change that many saw as a strategy of regime change in all but name.
Next week, during an annual meeting of world leaders at the United Nations, Pompeo will be delivering a major speech on Iran as part of an administration wide effort to demonize the Islamic Republic.
Trump is also scheduled to host a Security Council meeting on non-proliferation. On Friday, he tweeted that the gathering would be about Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif tweeted on Friday that the Trump administration is a threat to the Middle East and to the global community.
"It is true that there is a real threat to our region and to international peace and security: That threat is the Trump Administration’s sense of entitlement to destabilize the world along with rogue accomplices in our region,” Zarif said. "The U.S. must start acting like a normal state.”
"We have told the Islamic Republic of Iran that using a proxy force to attack an American interest will not prevent us from responding against the prime actor," Pompeo said. "We will not let Iran get away with using a proxy force to attack an American interest; Iran will be held accountable for those incidents."
Asked if that meant militarily, Pompeo said, "they're going to be held accountable."
The top U.S. diplomat was speaking in the wake of early September rocket attacks that appeared to target U.S. missions in Iraq, including in an area that houses the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
The White House said in a Sept. 11 statement that "Iran did not act to stop these attacks by its proxies in Iraq, which it has supported with funding, training and weapons."
Iran's Foreign Ministry responded on September 12 with a statement that called the U.S. claims "astonishing, provocative, and irresponsible."
Pompeo on Friday described Iran as the world's largest state sponsor of terror for supporting the Lebanese Hezbollah and "Makateeb Hezbollah”, a fictitious group which nobody has ever heard of.
He added that if Iran is "responsible for the arming and training of these militias, we're gonna go to the source."
Tensions between Iran and the U.S. have increased over the last year after President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the international nuclear pact that gave Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.
In the months since, the administration has rolled out a pressure campaign focused on "neutralizing" Iran's influence in the region. Pompeo delivered a speech in May that laid out 12 U.S. demands for Iran to change that many saw as a strategy of regime change in all but name.
Next week, during an annual meeting of world leaders at the United Nations, Pompeo will be delivering a major speech on Iran as part of an administration wide effort to demonize the Islamic Republic.
Trump is also scheduled to host a Security Council meeting on non-proliferation. On Friday, he tweeted that the gathering would be about Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif tweeted on Friday that the Trump administration is a threat to the Middle East and to the global community.
"It is true that there is a real threat to our region and to international peace and security: That threat is the Trump Administration’s sense of entitlement to destabilize the world along with rogue accomplices in our region,” Zarif said. "The U.S. must start acting like a normal state.”