Last Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held a meeting with a group
of “community leaders” during which he said that the US was not seeking
to impose regime change in Iran through direct military intervention.
Though the US has been threatening Iran pretty regularly for years, and
particularly since President Trump took office, Pompeo claimed that he
was “careful not to use the language of regime change” because they
didn’t intend to force the issue militarily if it didn’t happen on its
own from sanctions and US pressure.
That said, Pompeo said that the administration would’ve handed the 2009
Green Movement “differently” from the Obama Administration, without
specifying how. He also joked with the audience about a possible Iran
coup, saying even if the US was planning one, they wouldn’t admit it.
The “community leaders” also asked about the administration’s ties to
the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), a terror organization in Iran, which the US
de-listed in 2012. Pompeo insisted that he and Trump had never spoken
at MEK rallies, though John Bolton had.
Pompeo: US Does Not Plan Direct Military Intervention in Iran
Says US not using the language of regime change
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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