Pompeo’s Illusionary Speech and the Untrustworthy US
Nour Rida
The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's attitude on Iran rings a bell. A similar scenario was that of Jeffery Feltman's towards Hezbollah in 2005 in Lebanon.
Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs back then launched a similar campaign to "crush" the resistance movement. This week, Pompeo has waged a vicious campaign against Iran, following US President Donald Trump's announcement to ditch the nuclear deal earlier this month. With his propaganda machines, Pompeo is, like all predecessors, trying to distort the image of Iran more than ever. He declared that unprecedented harsh sanctions will be imposed on Iran, and announces that he and his government have decided to destroy and "crush" Iran and its economy, however all the efforts will be in vain.
This is all unsurprising. Leader of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had said in 2015 that the US is unreliable and that it will not abide by the deal. Understanding the nature of the US well, this was his opinion even before the deal was signed.
In a hardline speech, Pompeo demanded Iran to change just about everything. Though, Pompeo, like other US officials does not understand that Iran has chosen its own path and decided to preserve its independence and sovereignty. Such an attitude is not unexpected from the United States, which considers itself to be the world's major power that can dictate and slap others around.
Iran not only is a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, but also has been constantly following up with the IAEA and has given it access for follow up and inspection. The international organization declared several times that Iran has been preserving the spirit and articles of the nuclear deal. America is the one who turned its back and walked out after three years of breaching the nuclear deal and its spirit. However, the American government cannot tolerate an independent Iran that is growing stronger by the day.
US double standards are also not surprising. Pompeo unashamedly accuses Iran of having a "long list of accusations that Iran has created for itself." However, the US maintains its policies of hegemony, threat and wars towards all other players and independent states across the globe. It has launched wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, supported Saddam Hussein in his war against Iran, created al-Qaeda and affiliated groups and supported extremist groups in Syria and Iraq.
Pompeo and the arrogant list
Pompeo's arrogance allowed him to use his bullying behavior through which he also has alienated other nations and not just Iran. He allowed himself to address Europe and dictate it on what to do. "Every country is going to have to participate" in the new American sanctions against Tehran, Pompeo said.
His 12-point list of demands for Iran on Monday, as some officials described it, is unrealistic and lacking a clear strategy. Among the points stand "ending support to Hezbollah and Hamas", which obviously reflects US fear from resistance groups that have created a balance of power in the region in face of the "Israeli" apartheid state. This brings bad news to Pompeo that will only irritate him more; the political faction led by Hezbollah won a majority of seats in the Lebanese parliament in elections earlier in May. Hezbollah enjoys popular support and has been preserving Lebanon's territory and sovereignty from "Israeli" aggressions. It was Hezbollah who liberated the occupied land of Lebanon after years of "Israeli" occupation, killing and massacring, and it was the same group that defended Lebanon in the 33-day "Israeli" war on Lebanon in 2006 to bring a new equation and deterrence power to the region.
Ayatollah Khamenei had said it all
In 2015, even before the deal was signed, Leader of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ali Khamenei expressed deep skepticism about the nuclear talks, warning the government that "efforts must be made to immunize Iran against the sanctions" so that "the people would not be hurt."
The reason for his pessimism, he said, was that America could not be trusted.
"The Americans boldly say that the sanctions will not be removed all at once and immediately, even if Iran compromises. Given these facts, can such an enemy be trusted?" Ayatollah Khamenei asked.
Three years to signing the deal, the American regime proved his words to be true.
Commenting on Pompeo and the American regime's attitude, Ayatollah Khamenei said on Wednesday "Since the beginning of the revolution till today, the US has committed all kinds of animosity to hit the Islamic Republic and has plotted various political, economic, military and propaganda schemes against the Islamic Republic. All these actions aimed at ‘overthrowing' the Islamic Republic, a word which is repeated constantly, are not something new."
He went on to add that all the plots of the US and their allies have failed. "You can compare the Islamic Republic now to forty years ago, and see that it is moving forward with various capabilities. So, all their plots have failed... just like Tom from the well-known Tom and Jerry cartoon; and they will fail again in the future. We have no doubt in the failure of the enemy; and anyone who is familiar with Islamic thought knows this."
Trump is not doing any better than other Presidents. Ayatollah Khamenei noted "The current US president will have no better fate than that of his predecessors, like Bush, the other Neocons, and Reagan; he and will be lost in history."
Even though the US is unreliable, Ayatollah Khamenei did not stand in the way and block the deal, but rather encouraged the negotiating team and thanked them for their efforts but also assured the need to be alert. After the deal was struck, Iran remained committed despite the US continuous incompliance with the articles of the JCPOA.
Iran united, Iranian officials warn
With a supremacy mindset, Pompeo made his list of orders and noted that if Iran complies with US demands, the US will allow it to reintegrate in the world economy. However, the US has done Iran a favor once again. The normally divided Iranian media and political factions have uniformly rejected and derided Pompeo's May 21 speech. Newspapers united used the terms "illusionary speech" and "delusions" to describe Pompeo's aggressive speech.
Iranian officials also stood united on Pompeo's speech. In a speech delivered May 21, President Hassan Rouhani responded in remarks saying "That a person who worked in a spy agency for years becomes the secretary of the state and wants to make decisions for all of the countries is in no way acceptable." Rouhani asked rhetorically, "Who are you to decide for the world and Iran in the field of nuclear energy what Iran must do?"
For his part, Major-General Mohammad Bagheri, the head of the Iranian military, was quoted by state media as saying that "This enemy does not have the courage for military confrontation and face-to-face war with Iran, but it is trying to put economic and mental pressures on the Iranian nation."
Also, the Foreign Ministry described Pompeo's speech as an attempt to "divert world attention from America's illegal action and violation of the nuclear deal." It also said Pompeo's speech once again demonstrated America's "poor intelligence, weak insight and backward analysis" in its decision-making process.
Never-ending US supremacy, racism
The dictates of Pompeo do not differ from other American rhetoric or approach towards Iran. Not only is the US hostile towards Iran, but also towards other states or international players that are perceived by the US as a threat to its own interests. However, in the case of Iran, the source of this unending hostility is the essence and identity of the Islamic Republic of Iran which has arisen from the Islamic Revolution.
Lest we forget the orientalist Bernard Lewis, who died on May 19 and was celebrated silently in some Middle Eastern studies departments and the foul legacy he had left behind, which defines the US hegemonic approach towards Iran and the world.
The US acts as if it is the fixed point around which the rest of the world orbits. It has even limited the racism of orientalism to itself, excluding Europe which does not have the backbone to stand independently from the American government or even dares to do so. The rest are all the abnormal, the exotic, the Other who do not match US norms.
Source: Al-Ahed
