President Donald Trump has recently made threatening statements toward Iran. In late May, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave a major address at the Heritage Foundation following the U.S. government’s withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran Nuclear Deal.

Today, Pompeo speaks before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. See @accuracy Twitter feed on Iran: twitter.com/accuracy/lists/iran.

While many in the U.S. decry alleged Russian interference in U.S. political life, Reuters reports “U.S. launches campaign to erode support for Iran’s leaders.”

DAN KOVALIK, DKovalik at usw.org, @danielmkovalik
Kovalik is author of the just-released book The Plot to Attack Iran: How the CIA and the Deep State Have Conspired to Vilify Iran. He teaches international human rights at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

He recently wrote: “Pompeo’s claim about Iran and its neighbours simply reflect little understanding of the history of the country or the region. For the past 100 years, Iran has been subjected to military aggression from its neighbours, experiencing military occupation during both World Wars. After the Islamic Revolution of 1979, it went through eight years of war, defending itself from Saddam Hussein and the MEK — the latter which, despite assassinating 17,000 Iranians and even several Americans as well, have now developed a strong relationship with Pompeo and Trump’s National Security Advisor, John Bolton.

“It should be mentioned that even prior to the recent antics, the Iranian people had little reason to accept the ‘goodwill’ of the United States. The CIA’s 1953 coup d’état against the democratically-elected government of Mohammad Mossadegh; the brutal sanctions regime of the past decades…”