U.S. Defense Secretary: We Have Warned Iran

On Tuesday, September 6, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis stated that Iran has been warned to be accountable for its behavior and "malicious acts" in the region. Speaking at a press conference with General Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at the Pentagon, he said, "Iran has been warned about the malign activities it continues to carry out in the region, including the murders it has committed, its actions alongside Assad in Syria, its threats to close the Strait of Hormuz, and its support for the Houthis with missiles fired at Saudi Arabia." The U.S. Secretary of Defense emphasized that Washington will not tolerate this behavior and that Iran must be held accountable for all these actions. According to him, although Iran has recently reduced its aggressive behavior and is less inclined to confrontation, it remains the largest factor of instability in the Middle East. The U.S. insists on the complete withdrawal of Iranian forces from Syria. Washington has also set other conditions for reaching a new agreement with Iran regarding its nuclear program, including halting Tehran's support for Houthi rebels in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Following the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal and Washington's efforts to sanction Iranian oil, Iranian officials have threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, a region considered the most important oil shipping route in the world. However, Washington asserts that the Strait of Hormuz is part of an international waterway and not under Iran's control, and the U.S. will ensure freedom of navigation through this strait. In another part of the press conference, the U.S. Secretary of Defense addressed his country's support for Saudi Arabia and its allies in the Yemen war, stating that this support is not unconditional. He referenced the rising civilian casualties in Yemen and warned Saudi Arabia, stating that Washington's goal is to reduce the scale of this tragedy. Following an airstrike by the Saudi-led military coalition on a school bus in Yemen that resulted in the deaths of dozens of children, the U.S. Congress has sought explanations from the Trump administration regarding Washington's assistance to the coalition. Another focus of Jim Mattis's remarks on Tuesday was the joint military exercises with South Korea, which he stated would not be halted. He noted that the United States had suspended some large-scale exercises earlier this summer to demonstrate "goodwill" in negotiations with North Korea, but this does not mean that future exercises will also be suspended. Washington and Pyongyang are in the midst of negotiations regarding the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Trump recently prevented the U.S. Secretary of State from traveling to Pyongyang, stating that no significant progress has been made in the denuclearization process of North Korea.