CIA Chief: The People of Iran Do Not Support the Regime's Adventurism

Mike Pompeo, the head of the CIA, expressed hope in an interview regarding the recent nationwide protests in Iran that the Iranian people would "rise up and understand that the regime's adventurism is not in their interest." In his interview with the BBC on Tuesday, February 10, he discussed various topics, including the Islamic Republic and Tehran's "non-nuclear threat" to the Middle East and the recent protests. He described Iran's "non-nuclear threat" to stability in the Middle East as a "very serious challenge" and called for global cooperation with the U.S. in this regard. It seems that Pompeo's reference to "non-nuclear threat" pertains to Iran's missile activities, which have always been criticized by the Trump administration. Trump has stated that the Islamic Republic, by continuing its missile activities, is not adhering to the "spirit of the JCPOA," the nuclear agreement with the P5+1 group. In this context, the United States has recently taken extensive measures to encourage the global community to confront what Washington calls the Islamic Republic's "destabilizing actions" in the Middle East, its ballistic missile program, or its support for militia groups. In contrast, Iranian officials have not welcomed any efforts for what is termed "reforming" the JCPOA. The Islamic Republic claims that its missile activities are defensive and that these missiles are not designed to carry nuclear warheads. In his interview, Pompeo emphasized that the U.S. would stand against Iran's "adventurism," stating, "We must ensure that not only Qassem Soleimani but also Iran's political leaders, like [Hassan] Rouhani and others, take responsibility for the warmongering they have engaged in; such behavior is unacceptable, and we have a duty to stand against it." Pompeo also expressed concern about the proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia, noting that the way to prevent these actions from leading to a new war is for "the Iranian people to understand that this will not be good for them at all. We witnessed the protests in recent weeks; the Iranian people understand that these adventures, which cost tens of millions of dollars for them and endanger their lives... the war in Yemen makes no sense." Iran and Saudi Arabia have been supporting opposing sides in Syria and Yemen for several years: Tehran supports the central government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, while Riyadh supports the opposition in Yemen. Both countries accuse each other of interfering in the affairs of regional countries. In the protests that erupted in early December and spread to over 100 cities, protesters initially chanted slogans criticizing the poor economic situation and soon began shouting slogans against the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic and the President of Iran. One of the most important aspects of these protests was that the people reflected their negative views regarding Iran's military and propaganda presence in other regional countries, including Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon. It seems that the CIA chief's reference to "adventurism" pertains to the Islamic Republic's military presence, especially in Syria, which has so far cost the country billions of dollars. He stated, "We have long known that the Iranian people do not support adventurism and military activities in places like Iraq, in places that are not in Iran's interest at all; we hope that the leaders of Iran will change their understanding of this situation."