By Published On: July 14, 2018Categories: NEWS
Secretary Pompeo in NATO Summit-July 2018

Archive Photo- Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo addresses NATO Summit

On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asked European leaders to support the United States in its plans to cut off the Iranian regime from the world’s energy markets, according to an AFP report.

 

Pompeo made this request during talks in Brussels at the E.U.-U.S. Energy Council at this year’s NATO Summit. In attendance were Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Saudi foreign minister Adel Al Jubeir, Iraqi PM Haider Al Abadi, and E.U. foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.

 

Pompeo’s stated commitment at the talks was to “address the full array of threats posed by Iran” and to have the Gulf partners “work together to promote regional security and stability, and stand against Iran’s destabilizing activities.”

Iran’s list of destabilizing activities includes its support of the Houthi terrorists in Yemen, its continued use of ballistic missiles, despite a U.N. resolution prohibiting the practice, its support of dictator Bashar Al Assad and his use of chemical weapons in Syria, its interference in Iraq’s elections, and its most recent terrorist plot to attack the Iranian opposition,(MEK), at their annual gathering in Paris.

Before the talks, Pompeo tweeted:

 

“Iran continues to send weapons across the Middle East, in blatant violation of UN Security Council resolutions. Iran’s regime wants to start trouble wherever it can. It’s our responsibility to stop it.”

He followed this tweet with another just before the talks began:

“We ask our allies and partners to join our economic pressure campaign against Iran’s regime. We must cut off all funding the regime uses to fund terrorism and proxy wars. There’s no telling when Iran may try to foment terrorism, violence, and instability in one of our countries next.”

He attached a map of Europe to this tweet, marked with the location of the eleven known terror attacks that have been carried out by the regime or its proxy, Hezbollah since the regime took power in 1979.

 

The United States withdrew from the Joint Congressional Plan of Action (JCPOA), otherwise known as the Iran Nuclear Deal, in May of this year, saying that the regime had repeatedly and flagrantly violated the terms of the deal. The U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA triggered the reinstatement of sanctions against the regime, largely affecting its oil industry, which accounts for much of Iran’s revenue.

 

The U.S. has since warned other countries to stop buying Iranian oil by November 4th or face sanctions themselves. The United States can sanction any transaction done with U.S. dollars. Almost every large transaction touches a U.S. financial institution at some point, and if it involves Iran, the United States says it will sanction that transaction. Whether the other signatories of the JCPOA comply or not might be irrelevant. The cost of doing business with terrorists will increase significantly starting on November 4th.

 

Other signatories of the nuclear deal include France, Germany, and the U. K. These countries are all attempting to save the deal, but as of right now, there is no reason to believe they can protect themselves or their companies from U.S. sanctions.

Staff Writer

 

 

 

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