Brian Hook: Trump's Goal Will Be the Diplomatic Isolation and Economic Weakening of the Iranian Regime

Brian Hook, a former official in Donald Trump's administration who is said to be involved in his new government, referred to the Islamic Republic of Iran as the main factor of instability in the Middle East and stated that the goal of the new Trump administration will be to isolate the Iranian government. In an interview with CNN on Thursday evening, November 8, he said, "Trump knows that the main factor of instability in the Middle East today is the Iranian regime." He described the Persian Gulf as "in a way, the most dynamic region in the world in terms of economy and culture" and added, "This kind of extremism and revolutionary ideology that the Iranian regime exports is one of the obstacles to continuing this path." During Trump's previous presidency, Brian Hook served for over three years as a policy advisor to then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and was the head of the Iran Action Group at the State Department. He resigned shortly before the end of Trump's presidency, and Mike Pompeo referred to him as "a trusted advisor" who "achieved historic results against the Iranian regime." In his recent interview with CNN, Hook said, "President Trump has no interest in regime change, and as he repeatedly stated over the four years, the decision about Iran's future will be made by the Iranian people." He added, however, that based on what Donald Trump emphasized in Riyadh, he will "diplomatically isolate Iran and economically weaken it" so that it cannot continue to finance the Houthis, Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and its proxy groups in Iraq and Syria. According to CNN, Brian Hook is likely to be responsible for the transition team at the State Department of the new Trump administration. In recent years, some American media reported that the Islamic Republic was seeking to assassinate Brian Hook and several other officials of Trump's previous government; the Iranian government has denied these reports. In his interview with CNN, Brian Hook also mentioned that the peace plan known as the "Deal of the Century" for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will likely be back on the table with the start of Donald Trump's new term.