United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made a statement about what the U.S. will be doing after the recent withdrawal from the Iranian 2015 nuclear deal, and  now Iran has responded. President Hassan Rouhani alongside other Iranian government officials have claimed that the U.S. is reverting to policies in line with those of former president George W. Bush. President Rouhani said, “Today’s world will not accept that America alone decides for it. Countries have independence,” during a meeting at Tehran University attended by students and professors earlier this week. Rouhani also said that, “Now in the U.S. government a man has come to power who takes the country back 15 years to the Bush administration. They are repeating what they were saying in 2003 and 2004,” in reference to Pompeo’s Heritage Foundation speech that was made Monday in Washington D.C.

Iran‘s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said, “U.S. diplomacy sham is merely a regression to old habits: imprisoned by delusions and failed policies — dictated by corrupt Special Interest — it repeats the same wrong choices and will thus reap the same ill rewards. Iran, meanwhile, is working with partners for post-US JCPOA solutions.” An Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign affairs committee member, Heshmatolah Falahatpisha, made similar claims saying, “The U.S. secretary of state states the wishes of his country during the Bush administration. The difference is that Bush’s tune was tougher.” Falahatpisha also claimed that Iran was still maintaining a positive diplomatic stance but will not play into the “American aggression.”

Many European nations have made objections to the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, this has led Pompeo to look to the U.S.’s Emirati and Saudi allies for support. Many officials within the European Union are attempting to smooth over the deal and in turn ensure that European businesses will not be jeopardized in Iran. Russia has also expressed a reserved opinion that the action taken by the U.S. will have an adverse effect on regional stability.
Pompeo described European companies in Iran as “prohibited businesses” and that they will be expected “to account” for their actions. he added that, “These will indeed end up being the strongest sanctions in history when we are complete. We will apply unprecedented financial pressure on the Iranian regime. The leaders in Tehran will have no doubt about our seriousness.” Tehran is expected to remove its military forces from Middle Eastern conflicts.

Featured image courtesy of kremlin.ru [CC BY 4.0]