While the EU Foreign Policy Chief addressed one of America’s top academic institutions on the importance of preserving the nuclear agreement with Iran; the U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook traveled to the European Union’s capital, Brussels, to discuss with his European counterparts the urgent need to apply addition pressure on the Islamic Republic. During a press briefing to the media accompanying him on his trip, Ambassador Hook emphasized the importance of stepping-up EU sanctions on Tehran’s ballistic missile program, in response to the latest Iranian testing of medium-range ballistic missiles. While Ambassador Hook rejected the Iranian government’s claim that its missile testing was purely defensive in nature – asking “how exactly is the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism entitled to a claim of defense,” the American diplomat further underscore that the Iranian testing was a blatant violation of resolution 2231.
