Pompeo: All Options Remain on the Table against Iran

By Staff, Agencies

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has repeated Washington’s threats against Iran, saying all options remain on the table against the Islamic republic.

Pompeo made the remarks in an interview with the “Israeli” newspaper “Jerusalem Post” when he was asked whether “all options still on the table” against Iran.

Pompeo said this has been the policy of the United States for the past four years and there’s no reason it would change.

“My judgement is, and history will reflect, that we’ve been pretty successful,” he said.

“I remember when we first began the maximum pressure campaign. We’d withdrawn from the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action], and the world said this will never work, American sanctions alone won’t work,” he said.

“Well, they have significantly reduced Iran’s capacity to foment harm around the world. It’s not complete,” he added.

“[US President Donald Trump] has done several things. One, he denied them money. That also sent a strong message to the Middle East that facilitated the Abraham Accords [through] this central understanding, this isolation of Iran in ways that are deeply different than before, whether it’s the [United Arab] Emirates or Bahrain or Sudan or whoever signs the Abraham Accords next,” he continued.

On Wednesday, Iran warned the US of a crushing response if it takes any hostile move against the country.

This followed a New York Times report that Trump had asked his top aides, including Pompeo, about the possibility of striking Iran’s nuclear facilities.

The report said the aides dissuaded Trump by warning him that any such a move could escalate into a broader conflict in the last weeks of his presidency.