Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday the U. S. would impose the “strongest sanctions in history” against the Iranian leadership, after Washington pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal.
He warned that “the sting of sanctions will be painful” and Iran will struggle to “keep its economy alive” if Tehran “does not change its course from the unacceptable and unproductive path it has chosen.”
Pompeo laid out 12 US demands for Iran, including the withdrawal of all of its forces from Syria, vowing that Washington would impose the “strongest sanctions in history” if its demands were not met.
The secretary of state also pledged that the U.S. “will track down Iranian operatives and their Hezbollah proxies operating around the world, and we will crush them. Iran will never again have carte blanche to dominate the Middle East.”
Pompeo’s list of “basic requirements” for Iran also demands that it “release all U.S. citizens,” end support for Houthi rebels in Yemen, stop “enrichment” of uranium, and promise never to process plutonium.
He said Iran must also allow “unqualified access to all nuclear sites throughout the country.”
Pompeo also said he’s sure that over time, Washington’s allies will warm to the Trump administration’s now unpopular stance on Iran.
The speech comes after Trump announced earlier this month that he was pulling out of the 2015 nuclear deal.
Europeans allies had pleaded with Trump not to withdraw from the historic accord, which put tight restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. (Reuters/NAN)
