Pompeo at AIPAC: The fact that Hassan Nasrallah is begging for help is good news

Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State, stated at this year's American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) meeting that sanctions against Iran have caused the Islamic Republic's proxy groups to suffer and added that it is good news that Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, is 'begging for help.' On Monday, April 5, he said at the meeting: 'We withdrew from the irreparable nuclear deal that filled the pockets of the Ayatollah with over $100 billion and financed the Islamic Republic's violent program for dominance in the region.' He added that the United States has implemented 'the strongest pressure campaign in history against Iran and its proxies since withdrawing from the JCPOA, and they are suffering.' Referring to his visit to Lebanon last week, he stated that Hassan Nasrallah has 'recently extended his hand to the same people he and his Iranian masters have subdued and intimidated. The fact that Hassan Nasrallah is begging for help is good news.' After months of facing heavier U.S. sanctions, Hassan Nasrallah two weeks ago asked his supporters and the people of Lebanon and 'resistance groups in Lebanon' to financially support Hezbollah. The Secretary-General of Hezbollah had previously stated in summer 2016 that U.S. banking and financial restrictions would not be effective, as the group receives all its needs 'from food and clothing to missiles and rockets' directly from the Islamic Republic. The U.S. Secretary of State also referred to Nasrallah as the 'master terrorist' of the Islamic Republic and stated that the Islamic Republic is the main promoter of anti-Semitism in the world. Recently, Pompeo also mentioned in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) that as a Christian, he believes that perhaps God sent Donald Trump to save the Jewish people from the threat of Iran. His Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, responded by accusing the U.S. of 'Iranophobia' and 'distorting the Torah.' In a tweet published on Saturday morning, Zarif wrote that the text of the Torah shows that 'an Iranian king saved the Jews from slavery in Babylon,' 'another Iranian king saved the Jews from genocide,' and 'the promoters of the genocide of the Jews were the inhabitants of the Negev desert, not Iranians.' At this year's AIPAC meeting, Brian Hook, the U.S. Special Representative for Iran, also spoke and stated that 'Iran is facing the most severe crisis in the last forty years.' This statement was met with applause from the attendees. In an interview published by the National website on Friday, Hook also stated that Iran provides approximately $700 million annually to Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the return of sanctions has halted this financial support. He emphasized: 'The money that a Hezbollah militant receives is much more than the salary of a firefighter in Iran.' Hook said: 'We see signs of this pressure and witness that the leader of Hezbollah is asking people to give them money. Such behavior is a clear sign, and this is the impact we are looking for.'