Mike Pompeo: America is Ready to Do Whatever is Necessary to Prevent Iran from Acquiring Nuclear Weapons
The U.S. Secretary of State on Sunday, September 7, in an interview with Fox News, referring to Iran’s actions in violating its commitments in the nuclear agreement of summer 2015, stated that the Islamic Republic will never acquire atomic weapons and that America will do whatever is necessary in this regard.
Mike Pompeo, in response to the program host’s question about Iran’s announcement to use advanced centrifuges to increase uranium enrichment beyond the limits agreed upon in the JCPOA, said that as President Trump has clearly stated, Iran will never acquire nuclear weapons.
Continuing his remarks, and noting that the U.S. President has previously stated that his administration is prepared to take any action to ensure that Iran never possesses atomic weapons, he expressed hope that the world will join the United States in countering this Iranian approach.
Mr. Pompeo added that the current challenge is that when the current U.S. administration came to power, the previous administration had given billions of dollars to the ayatollahs in Iran, and this money enabled them to advance their programs. He said that one of the shortcomings of the JCPOA is that all the restrictions imposed by it could revert to the previous situation in just a minute.
The U.S. Secretary of State, emphasizing that President Trump’s administration’s approach is different, said: “We are forming new coalitions with countries in the Persian Gulf region, with Israel, with all our partners around the world who understand the threat posed by the existence of nuclear weapons in the Middle East and in the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Mike Pompeo added that the goal is to reduce the Islamic Republic’s capacity to produce nuclear weapons, and this has been done successfully. He said that Hezbollah has fewer resources at its disposal, and the situation of Iran-backed militias in Iraq is the same.
The U.S. Secretary of State also regarding the economic difficulties facing the Islamic Republic today, while referring to Iran’s alarming inflation rate, said that Iran’s gross domestic product is expected to decline by 12 to 14 percent this year, and this reduces their ability to obtain the necessary tools for their destructive actions.
Mr. Pompeo, noting that President Trump’s approach toward Iran has been very successful so far, once again emphasized that the United States will never allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons.
Regarding the possibility of a meeting between the presidents of the United States and Iran on the sidelines of the upcoming United Nations General Assembly session in New York this month, he said that President Trump will assess whether holding such a meeting would produce favorable results for the American people.
Source: Voice of America
