Liu Kun
In his first major policy speech after taking office, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has vowed to deter Iran on all fronts in the middle east after the US pulled out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
He also outlined 12 basic requirements from the US side if a new deal on the Iran nuclear issue is to be negotiated, threatening that Iran will face bigger problems than ever before if it restarts its alleged nuclear program.
Our Washington correspondent Liu Kun has the details.
In a speech delivered at Washington think tank the Heritage Foundation, Pompeo started by assailing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, commonly known as the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
He said the pact is not able to guarantee the safety of Americans and posed the potential threat of putting Iran on the track of pursuing its nuclear ambition again.
The 2015 deal, a major diplomatic legacy from the Obama era, came after years of tension over Iran’s alleged efforts to develop a nuclear weapon, with Iran insisting that its nuclear program was entirely peaceful. The Trump administration announced the decision to pull out of the deal about two weeks ago.
Pompeo said the US is re-imposing its previous sanctions against Iran and will impose more.
“First, we will apply unprecedented financial pressure on the Iranian regime. The leaders in Tehran will have no doubt about our seriousness. Thanks to our colleagues at the Department of Treasury, sanctions are going back in full effect and new ones are coming. ”
Pompeo then said economic sanction is only the beginning of the new US strategy on Iran and this administration’s goal is to deter Iran on all fronts in the middle east.
On the future of solving the Iran nuclear issue, Pompeo declared that the US will only consider a new deal, instead of renegotiating the current one.
“We will not repeat the mistakes of past administrations, and we will not renegotiate the JCPOA itself.”
Pompeo listed 12 requirements from the US side, saying the US will only consider negotiating if Iran will meet these requirements. These include Iran declaring to the IAEA a full account of the prior military dimensions of its nuclear program, stopping enrichment and never pursuing plutonium reprocessing, closing its heavy water reactor, ending its ballistic missiles program, giving the IAEA unlimited access to all sites throughout the entire country, and releasing detained American citizens, among other issues.
He says the United States will send teams around the globe to explain the U.S. motives and build a global momentum.
Pompeo’s speech dominated mainstream American media coverage on Monday, but many are questioning how feasible the policies are. Citing experts on US-Iran relations, the Washington Post reports that most of the 12 requirements listed by Pompeo are non starters and will only lead to bitter confrontation between the two countries.
For CRI, this is Liu Kun reporting from Washington.
