Pompeo: Iran's Influence Has Grown Significantly Compared to Six or Seven Years Ago

Mike Pompeo, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), recently stated in an interview that he believes the Islamic Republic of Iran is the "largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world" and warned that Iran's influence in the Middle East is expanding. In an interview with MSNBC on Saturday, July 3, Mr. Pompeo mentioned that "today we are witnessing a very significant influence of that country, an influence that has gone far beyond what it was six or seven years ago." He continued, "If we look at the influence they have over the Baghdad government, the increasing power of Hezbollah in Lebanon, or their cooperation alongside the Houthis in Iran, and if we look at the Iraqi Shiites who are currently fighting at the border with Syria, especially the Shiite forces engaged in Syria, [we see that] Iran is everywhere in the Middle East." Pompeo's reference to "Iraqi Shiites who are currently fighting at the border with Syria" pertains to the Iran-backed forces known as Popular Mobilization Forces (Hashd al-Shaabi), which have particularly sought to take areas along the Iraq-Syria border from the control of the Islamic State (ISIS) in recent months. Controlling these border areas by Iran-backed Shiites could block the path for fleeing ISIS fighters from Mosul and other northern Iraqi areas to join ISIS forces in Syria and reduce the pressure of ISIS on Bashar al-Assad's army in Syria; a point that Yahya Rahim Safavi, a senior military advisor to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, has also emphasized. This trend has simultaneously raised increasing concerns for Israel and the United States, with the Jerusalem Post reporting last month that Iranian-backed militants have seized the strategic village of "Um Jaris" at the zero point of the Syria-Mosul road, increasing the risk of connecting Hashd al-Shaabi to Iranian-backed forces in Syria. These concerns have led Israel Katz, Israel's Minister of Intelligence, to present a five-point plan for "removing Iran from Syria" during his visit to the United States in May of this year. Nikki Haley, the senior U.S. representative to the United Nations, also stated in April this year regarding her country's policies in the region that "we must crush ISIS and end Iran's influence." The Islamic Republic of Iran has always threatened to destroy Israel, and recently Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, stated regarding Israel that "you will not see the next 25 years, and God willing, by the next 25 years, there will be nothing left of the Zionist regime." In this context, the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army stated: "We must prevent Iran from becoming the second North Korea." The Guardian reported: "The land corridor from Tehran to Lebanon is a plan in progress."