The U.S. State Department’s Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook stressed that despite international rhetoric against the Trump Administration, it remains committed to promoting a policy of peace and security in the Middle East.
In an address to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Hook underscored that ‘as such’, the United States is holding the Islamic Republic accountable for a foreign policy based on its revolutionary ideology that has negatively impacted the entire region. Hook said: “This administration is committed to promoting a policy of peace and security in the Middle East. As part of a coordinated strategy we are implementing, we are holding Iran’s government accountable for its revolutionary foreign policy – which has caused so much death and suffering in the Middle East and well beyond.”
The senior state department official further asserted that the United States will not be held hostage by Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and will take the necessary actions to protect U.S. interest, following Tehran’s decision to scale-back from its commitments to the 2015 nuclear agreement. According to the U.S. Special Representative for Iran: “We will not be held hostage by Iran’s nuclear blackmail. While we are still reviewing the technical implications of its announcement and working closely with our European allies. The Secretary has been clear: either you comply with the deal or you do not. Cheating just a little bit – is still cheating, and in the context of Iran’s nuclear commitments it will not be tolerated. The United States is committed to denying Iran all paths to a nuclear weapon, and we will continue to impose maximum pressure on the regime, until it abandons its destabilizing ambitions.”
The American special representative emphasized Washington’s view, in which the nuclear deal with Iran – that was formulated under the Obama Administration – came at the expense of a more peaceful Middle East. Hook insisted that this remains evident in the fact that the Islamic Republic increased the scale and scope of its malign activities in the region, under the cover of the nuclear deal, which prolonged and intensified suffering.
Shortly after his statement, the White House announced the implementation of a new round of sanctions against Iran with the aim of targeting revenue from the Islamic Republic’s export of industrial metals, including iron and steel.