THE Iranian spy chief accused of masterminding a bomb plot in Paris was found with a notebook detailing the full extent of his European network, it has been revealed.
Former United States President Donald Trump’s administration unleashed a torrent of economic sanctions on individuals and entities during his single term in the Oval Office. The punitive measures were aimed at squeezing the US’s foes – most notably Iran, Venezuela and China – to advance Trump’s foreign policy agenda.
But sanctions often failed to achieve their objectives, and critics charge that the acceleration of sanctions on some countries near the end of Trump’s term was designed to box in newly sworn-in President Joe Biden on key foreign policy matters.
The Trump administration’s unilateral withdrawal from the Iran nuclear pact with world powers in 2018 and its subsequent “maximum pressure” campaign of sanctions targeting Iran’s economy failed to coerce Tehran back to the negotiating table. The relentless barrage of blacklistings backfired in some respects because Iran is once again enriching uranium.
Commentary By
James Phillips is the senior research fellow for Middle Eastern affairs at the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation. He has written extensively on Middle Eastern issues and international terrorism since 1978. Read his research.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blasted Iran in a speech on Tuesday for the covert support and sanctuary it has extended to al-Qaeda. Pompeo charged that Iran had become the “new Afghanistan,” the country where al-Qaeda was based in 2001 when it launched the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
He warned that “unlike in Afghanistan, when al-Qaeda was hiding in the mountains, al-Qaeda today is operating under the hard shell of the Iranian regime’s protection.”
James Phillips is a senior research fellow for Middle Eastern affairs at The Heritage Foundation. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on January 12, 2021. ANDREW HARNIK / Contributor / Getty Images
Key Takeaways
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blasted Iran in a speech on Tuesday for the covert support and sanctuary it has extended to al-Qaeda.
Pompeo charged that Iran had become the “new Afghanistan,” the country where al-Qaeda was based in 2001 when it launched the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
As the Trump administration winds down, Pompeo is going out with a bang, launching new salvos of sanctions at Iran and its proxies.