CIA Chief: We Prevent Iran's Destructive Actions by Pressuring the IRGC

The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) described Iran as the center of threats in the Middle East, stating that Washington aims to prevent the destructive actions of the Islamic Republic by applying pressure on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Quds Force. Mike Pompeo, speaking at a meeting held by the 'Foundation for Defense of Democracies' in Washington on Thursday, October 19, referred to Donald Trump's opposition to the nuclear deal, saying that the U.S. President wants to ensure that Iran cannot develop nuclear weapons in any way. Some excerpts from this speech were published by the Persian section of Voice of America on their social media pages, where Mr. Pompeo stated: 'The nuclear agreement has put us in a better position regarding inspections, but Iran has shown in multiple instances that it wants to endanger us with its secret missile and nuclear programs.' He further stated: 'What the President [of the United States] asked us regarding the nuclear agreement was to ensure that there is no way for Iran to achieve the capability to produce nuclear weapons and to avoid a situation like the one we currently face with North Korea.' Donald Trump has explicitly stated that it is entirely possible for the U.S. to withdraw from the nuclear agreement. Although this has met with opposition from European Union leaders who are parties to the nuclear agreement with Iran, Washington has urged world leaders and the United Nations Security Council to take a more serious stance towards Iran and to follow the approach of Trump's administration. The White House claims that Iran is using the nuclear agreement as a cover to pursue its policies of 'supporting terrorism' and 'destabilizing the region,' manipulating the Security Council. In this context, the CIA Director stated: 'The President [of the United States] knows that Iran is the center of threats in the world and the Middle East. We see its support for Hezbollah and the threats it poses to Israel. We see their influence in northern Iraq. We see the threats they pose to American soldiers. The list of Iran's negative actions is long. We have provided all this information from a security perspective to the President so that he can decide how to deal with Iran and how to maintain relations with the Gulf countries and Israel.' Recently, Donald Trump announced his new strategy towards Iran, under which the IRGC will be placed on the U.S. sanctions list. Mike Pompeo also referenced this event in his speech on Thursday, stating: 'When the President studied the nuclear agreement, he asked us about Iran's ability to acquire nuclear weapons. As you have seen in the President's tweets, it is unacceptable for him that Iran is one or two years away from obtaining nuclear weapons. Therefore, he asked us to see how we can prevent Iran's destructive actions by pressuring the Quds Force and the IRGC and the Islamic Republic regime.' Tehran has reacted strongly to the U.S. President's decision to sanction the IRGC, stating that it will increase its 'regional influence' and 'missile capability.' Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, has also stated that if Trump tears up the nuclear deal, Iran will shred it, implying a more severe response from the Islamic Republic to any potential U.S. actions against the nuclear agreement.