Pompeo recently tweeted, “5,000 Iranian’s arrested…30 women jailed for protesting the hijab. Hundreds of Sufi Dervishes, dozens of environmentalists, 400 Ahwazis, 30 Isfahan farmers – all imprisoned by Iran’s criminal regime. Iranian people deserve respect for their human rights.”
Anti-regime protests in Iran have escalated in size and violence, as Iran’s economic catastrophe reveals the Iranian people’s loss of confidence in the rulers of the Islamic Republic. The Times of Israel recently noted that chants of “Death to the Dictator,” “Death to Palestine” and “No to Gaza, no to Lebanon” are becoming common.
The Iranian people are coming together to voice their dissatisfaction with a country crumbling under corruption, repression and mismanagement. Tehran has reportedly spent $6 billion to fund Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government since the Syrian civil war began seven years ago. That is in addition to Tehran’s financing of Islamist terror around the globe. In the meantime, domestically, poverty levels and unemployment are high.
The people of Iran are hopeful that the Iranian government-Revolutionary Guards complex will be held accountable to the Iranian people.
But, the economy will likely get worse, before any change occurs. According to Forbes, major global companies including Maersk and General Electric are withdrawing from Iran as rapidly as they entered it in 2015. Inflation has also skyrocketed. Following the U.S. exit from the Iran nuclear deal, the Iranian rial has lost nearly half of its value, trading currently at about 80,000 rials to $1 in U.S. currency, according to many reports.
Government-reported figures place unemployment across all working-age ranges at 12 percent, while youth unemployment is above 28 percent. The real jobless figures may be higher.
Pompeo has also tweeted, “#Iran’s regime has brought suffering & death to the world & its own people. Just in Europe, Iran-sponsored assassinations, bombings & other terrorist attacks have scarred countless lives. Hope the Europeans raised this with Rouhani & Zarif on their European tour.”
Formal declarations by Pompeo, along with his social media statements, display the proactive, engaged policy position on Iran that America has today.
Pompeo warned Iran’s leaders, “I hope they understand that if they begin to ramp up their nuclear program, the wrath of the entire world will fall upon them.”
