Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also reiterated at the weekend that the United States does not want to go to war with Iran, but admitted that it has done what it can to deter the regime. He said that Iran must realise that the United States is going to continue acting and taking measures to deter it from engaging in further such activity.
He also reiterated that the United States concluded that Iran was behind the attack for a number of reasons – not just as a result of the video footage that had been released.
He explained that the conclusion was met based on a multitude of evidence and data. He hinted that some of these elements may be declassified in the near future.
Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) had some harsh criticism for Iran, saying that Iran’s actions in one of the most important strategic chokepoints in the world is a bold move. He said: “The fastest way to get the fire and fury of the U.S. military unleashed on you is to interfere with the freedom of navigation on the open seas and in the air.”
The United States has also said that Iran is responsible for the attempted attack on a U.S. Reaper drone that took place on Thursday 13th June. U.S. military officials are saying that the Houthi rebels in Yemen are acting on Iran’s instructions.
The Trump administration has been applying a maximum pressure campaign for several months now, and it is certainly going to increase pressure following these latest revelations.
The Iranian regime is finding itself in an impossible situation. It is trying to regain the control that it once had through these attacks, but it is making its own situation worse. The people are also facing increasing pressure from the regime as it issues further crackdowns on dissent, but again, the regime is making its own situation worse because the people refuse to be silenced.
International pressure against the regime looks set to continue. Already a number of countries, including Saudi Arabia have joined the United States in blaming the Iranian regime for the recent attacks. The kingdom has called on the international community to take swift action to ensure that Gulf energy supplies are not hit.
The fall of the regime is near but between now and then it is important for the international community to leave any form of appeasement in the past and make sure that Iran knows its belligerence will not be accepted.
