Mike Pence: Iran's Dangerous Provocations Will Not Go Unanswered

The U.S. Vice President, during a speech at the "American Israel Public Affairs Committee" (AIPAC), accused Tehran of spending over $4 billion on "terrorist groups" last year, including at the Israeli border. Mike Pence stated, "Iran's dangerous provocations will not go unanswered." On March 5, Pence dedicated part of his speech at AIPAC to the topic of Iran, the activities of the Islamic Republic in the region, and the nuclear agreement. Pence, alongside President Donald Trump, is a staunch critic of the nuclear deal between Iran, the Obama administration, and five world powers. He reiterated that this agreement will either be amended or the United States will not extend the suspension of sanctions related to it. Pence said, "Make no mistake, this is their last chance. If the nuclear deal with Iran is not amended in the coming months, the U.S. will immediately withdraw from it." Trump has called for four components to be added to the nuclear deal: allowing inspections of all sites, preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons under any circumstances, removing the expiration date on Iran's nuclear restrictions, and finally addressing Iran's missile program. According to the U.S. President, "The long-range missile program and the nuclear weapons program are inseparable, and Iran's development and testing of missiles must be subjected to tough sanctions." Besides the United States, other parties to the nuclear negotiations, namely the European Union and three European powers, along with China and Russia, as well as the UN Secretary-General and the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, have called for the parties to adhere to the JCPOA and maintain it. Yukiya Amano, the Director-General of the IAEA, stated on Monday that a potential failure of the JCPOA would be a "great loss" for "nuclear verification" and "multilateralism." Reports indicate that the three European countries involved in the nuclear negotiations - Britain, France, and Germany - have formed a joint committee with the American side to address the U.S. President's requests regarding the JCPOA, which has faced criticism from Tehran. The Iranian Foreign Minister stated, "The Europeans have been unable to fulfill their JCPOA commitments, particularly in the banking sector, in some cases due to U.S. policies." In another part of his speech at AIPAC, Pence accused the Islamic Republic of spending over $4 billion on "terrorist groups" last year, including at the Israeli borders. According to the U.S. Vice President, the downing of an "Iranian drone" over Israeli airspace last month conveyed the message that "Iran's dangerous provocations will not go unanswered by Israel, the U.S., and our allies." Iran has denied Israeli officials' statements regarding the entry of a drone from Syria into its airspace, describing them as "ridiculous." The Israeli army announced on February 10 that its air force had shot down an "Iranian drone" over the Golan Heights, and in response, its fighter jets bombed "positions belonging to Iranian forces" in Syrian territory. Iran claims that its "advisory" presence in Syria is at the request of the Syrian central government and is aimed at fighting what Tehran, Damascus, and Moscow refer to as "terrorist groups." Mike Pence emphasized that Washington will not allow the defeat of the group known as the Islamic State to become a victory for Iran. Pence also stated that the United States will never allow Tehran to acquire nuclear weapons. Iran has consistently denied seeking to obtain nuclear weapons.