Pompeo's Remarks on the Presence of Iranian Officials' Families in the U.S.

Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State, participated in an interview published on the social media account of the U.S. Virtual Embassy, where he responded to a question regarding the presence of families and children of Islamic Republic officials in the United States. This interview was released with Persian subtitles on Twitter and YouTube. The U.S. Secretary of State stated that officials of the Islamic Republic have taken the people's money and 'send their children abroad to study, shop, and enjoy the freedoms we have in the United States because they know their country is not good enough for their own.' Mr. Pompeo expressed concern that 'it is troubling for us that they send their families abroad; troubling not for us but for Iran.' The video was published along with images of several Islamic Republic officials, including the Iranian Foreign Minister, and a group of workers protesting the economic situation, titled 'Pompeo's response to users' questions about the children and families of regime officials in the U.S.' with the hashtag '#HypocriticalRegime.' The officials of the Islamic Republic have not yet responded to Mr. Pompeo's remarks. However, about a month and a half ago, Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian Foreign Minister, stated regarding this issue that 'the children of a limited number of Iranian officials are in the U.S., and they have made this decision personally based on their living and working conditions.' Meanwhile, Brian Hook, the U.S. Special Representative for Iran, announced that the issue of 'expelling' the children of Islamic Republic officials from the country is under review. He described the presence of family members of Iranian officials as 'hypocrisy.'