Following the designation of two Iranian regime’s ‘judges’ on Thursday, Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State said the US will stand with the Iranian people.

“The United States will stand and has stood under President Trump with the Iranian people. Our public support, our moral support is important.  Our calls for justice matter.” Pompeo said at the State Department on December 19, 2019, adding:

U.S. Will Not Renew Sanction Waivers to Countries that Import Oil from Iran

On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held a press conference in which he announced that the United States government will no longer issue waivers to countries that import oil from Iran exempting them from sanctions.

Maximum pressure on the Iranian regime means maximum pressure. That’s why the U.S. will not issue any exceptions to Iranian oil importers. The global oil market remains well-supplied. We’re confident it will remain stable as jurisdictions transition away from Iranian crude.

— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) April 22, 2019

Exemptions for Japan, South Korea, Turkey, China, and India are set to expire on May 2nd and will not be renewed, according to Secretary Pompeo. These countries will face U.S. sanctions if they continue importing oil from Iran after that date.

The decision follows the recent designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the United States. The FTO designation makes it illegal to provide financial support, equipment, materials, or professional advice to any entities or organizations affiliated with the IRGC. Anyone found in violation may face civil and/or criminal prosecution.

The resumption of economic sanctions against the Iranian regime, the FTO designation, and the end of oil exemptions are all part of the Trump administration’s tough stance on the mullahs’ regime. The change in policy ends a longstanding policy of appeasement to the mullahs and has placed serious economic and political pressure on the Iranian regime.

Statement from the White House

The White House issued a statement in advance of Pompeo’s press conference, explaining its decision. The full text may be read below:

“President Donald J. Trump has decided not to reissue Significant Reduction Exceptions (SREs) when they expire in early May. This decision is intended to bring Iran’s oil exports to zero, denying the regime its principal source of revenue. The United States, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, three of the world’s great energy producers, along with our friends and allies, are committed to ensuring that global oil markets remain adequately supplied. We have agreed to take timely action to assure that global demand is met as all Iranian oil is removed from the market.

“The Trump Administration and our allies are determined to sustain and expand the maximum economic pressure campaign against Iran to end the regime’s destabilizing activity threatening the United States, our partners and allies, and security in the Middle East. The President’s decision to eliminate all SREs follows the designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, demonstrating the United States commitment to disrupting Iran’s terror network and changing the regime’s malign behavior. We welcome the support of our friends and allies for this effort.​”

Maryam Rajavi’s Response

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), welcomed the decision in a tweet, writing:

Oil is a national treasure and must be put in the service of the Iranian people’s welfare and advancement. But the mullahs either plunder it or spend it on suppression and exporting terrorism and war.#Iran#IranSanctions

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) April 22, 2019

“Oil is a national treasure and must be put in the service of the Iranian people’s welfare and advancement. But the mullahs either plunder it or spend it on suppression and exporting terrorism and war.
#Iran
#IranSanctions”

She also described measures that the international community could take to support the Iranian people and end the religious dictatorship.

Oil embargo & #BlacklistIRGC must be complemented by other measures, including the recognition of the right of the Iranian ppl & Resistance to overthrow the religious dictatorship & designating other organs of repression,expelling MOIS & IRGC agents from US & Europe#Iran

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) April 22, 2019

Oil embargo & #BlacklistIRGC must be complemented by other measures, including the recognition of the right of the Iranian ppl & Resistance to overthrow the religious dictatorship & designating other organs of repression,expelling MOIS & IRGC agents from US & Europe
#Iran

Mrs. Rajavi also urged the international community to take action to visit political prisoners in Iran and to call for their release in light of recent comments from the regime’s Minister of Intelligence in which he claimed that the regime had “dealt with” 118 MEK teams in the past year.

Staff writer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During coverage of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s nine-nation tour of the Middle East, Fox News aired Pompeo’s speech he made on Friday, January 11^th.

In the speech, the Secretary of State denounced the Iranian regime’s “malign activity” as “creating enormous instability here in the region”. Pompeo announced that the US would arrange a world summit on Iran, to be held in Poland in February 2019, where the international community would explore avenues of curbing the regime’s influence in the region.

I am pleased to announce that the U.S. and #Poland will jointly host the Ministerial to Promote a Future of Peace and Security in the Middle East in Warsaw on Feb. 13-14. It will be a forum for countries to address a range of critical issues toward a more peaceful Middle East. pic.twitter.com/IS8oPP4Aqs

— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) January 11, 2019

Fox News interviewed Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the think-tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies, who spoke about his recent visit to the Middle East and meetings he had with top leaders in the region.

Dubowitz described leaders’ concerns about the Iranian regime and its “destructive and malign activities.”

He said, “dozens of countries, including the Europeans, understand, the Iranian regime is engaged in assassinations, support for terrorism, and building ballistic missiles,” he continued, “not to mention brutal human rights abuses within Iran.”

MEK, The Largest Opposition Group

Fox News then aired footage of the People’s Mujahedin Organisation of Iran’s (MEK’s) annual Grand Gathering, held outside Paris. Eric Shawn, the Fox News host, described how the Iranian regime had plotted to bomb the event, attended by more than 100,000 MEK supporters and allies from across the world.

The French Government Confirms “Without any Doubt” the Iranian Regime was Behind the Foiled Terror Attack

Shawn pointed out that among those in attendance were several former US officials, including Trump’s lawyer and former New York mayor, Rudy Giuliani, who, Shawn said, “speak every year,” at the event.

Fox News aired comments from the Iranian opposition leader, Maryam Rajavi, in response to Pompeo’s speech in Cairo. Mrs. Rajavi said,

“the US Secretary of State reiterated that when America partners with enemies such as the mullahs, ‘they advance’ gaining access to weapons of mass destruction, violations of human rights, export of fundamentalism, and terrorism,” which Ms. Rajavi says, “are the four pillars holding up the theocratic regime ruling Iran.”

Maryam Rajavi President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), emphasized, “the ultimate solution for discarding the mullahs’ religious fascism is changing this illegitimate regime at the hands of the Iranian people and Resistance.”

Shawn put the question to Dubowitz, asking “can that ever be done?”

“These regimes are actually a lot weaker than you would expect,” Dubowitz asserted. “Hopefully within our lifetime, we will see the end of the Islamic Republic, which is the best guarantee for global security.”

 

Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State, made a speech in Cairo outlining the termination of the United States’ policy of appeasement towards the ruling mullahs in Iran. He said,

“we joined the Iranian people in calling for freedom and accountability”, adding, “the age of self-inflicted American shame is over, and so are the policies that produced so much needless suffering.”

He reiterated the need to form strategic partnerships with the mullahs’ international enemies, suggesting that when these forces collaborated, they were able to “advance.”

Following his statement, Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the Iranian opposition, which includes the People’s Mujahedin Organisation of Iran (MEK),  welcomed Pompeo’s announcement and welcomed an end to the policy of appeasement that has characterized US Iranian policy for decades.

She reiterated that the Iranian regime relied on a climate of fear, instilled by the accumulation of long-range weapons of mass destruction, violations of human rights at home, and the export of state-sponsored terrorism abroad.

Recognition of the National Council of Resistance of #Iran, as the sole democratic alternative to the regime, is imperative to rectifying four decades of appeasement. These are essential steps in facing a regime which only understands the decisive language of force.#FreeIran pic.twitter.com/fWbFGIzrDs

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) January 13, 2019

Mrs. Rajavi asserted that the only way to end the religious fascism that has typified this regime is through the Iranian public and their unwavering pursuit of regime change.

She reiterated the importance of international governments and organizations recognizing the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) as the only viable democratic alternative to the Iranian regime.

Maryam Rajavi calls for necessary steps to rectifying and ending the disastrous policy of appeasement

Maryam Rajavi and the MEK have long advocated for a transition to a democratic Iran. She has put together a ten-step plan to democracy that would ensure a smooth transition from the authoritarian dictatorship under the mullahs, to a free Iran governed by principles of a secular democracy.

#MaryamRajavi's statement welcomes @SecPompeo's announcement that the U.S. will no longer protect #Iran’s ruling mullahs &his emphasis that“We joined the Iranian people in calling for freedom &accountability.”&an end for the policy of appeasement.#FreeIranhttps://t.co/VP47yutZtH pic.twitter.com/lBUImTviuV

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) January 12, 2019

Maryam Rajavi and the MEK advocate the following measures to help bring democratic governance to Iran:

1. International recognition of the Iranian people’s right to overthrow the mullahs’ fascist dictatorship and remove themselves from the shackles of the repressive regime.
2. The addition of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) on EU and US terrorist entity lists.
3. The expulsion of Iranian regime agents from the US and Europe.
4. The referral of Iranian human rights violations to the UN Security Council.
5. The opening of an international tribunal to investigate the murder of 30,000 political dissidents in the summer of 1988.
6. The removal of the Iranian clerical regime from the UN and the immediate recognition of representation of the people’s just Resistance.
7. The expulsion of the Iranian regime’s forces from Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, and Afghanistan.
8. Compelling the government of Iraq to pay compensation for the properties, equipment, arms, and camps the PMOI/MEK and the National Liberation Army of Iran (NLA), which had fully paid for them and whose evidentiary documents are available.

Staff Writer