US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday issued a stark warning to Iran, telling CNN in an interview that Washington will take direct action against Tehran for any attacks, even those using proxy forces, against US interests.
"We have told the Islamic Republic of Iran that using a proxy force to attack an American interest will not prevent us from responding against the prime actor," Pompeo stressed.
"That is, we will not let Iran get away with using a proxy force to attack an American interest; Iran will be held accountable for those incidents," he added.
Asked if that meant militarily, Pompeo reiterated, "they're going to be held accountable."
The Secretary of State was speaking in the wake of early September rocket attacks, allegedly by Iran-backed militias, that appeared to target US missions in Iraq, including in an area that houses the US Embassy in Baghdad.
The White House blamed Shiite militia groups for the attacks, saying in a statement last week that "Iran did not act to stop these attacks by its proxies in Iraq, which it has supported with funding, training and weapons."
Iran's Foreign Ministry later fired back, saying in a statement that the US claims were "astonishing, provocative, and irresponsible."
Pompeo noted in his interview with CNN that Iran has been "confronting the world as the world's largest state sponsor of terror for quite some time. They have armed militias, the Lebanese Hezbollah, Makateeb Hezbollah, militias in Iraq; they're arming the Houthis in Yemen, launching missiles in the Gulf states."
He added that if Iran is "responsible for the arming and training of these militias, we're gonna go to the source." READ MORE
