U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called for the negotiation of a new deal with Iran that would go far beyond the single focus of the agreement reached in 2015, proposing a document with the status of a formal treaty.
In a speech Monday at the conservative Heritage Foundation, Pompeo called Iran out for a wide range of "malign activities" apart from its nuclear program.
A 2015 accord, reached under the preceding Obama administration, focused only with Iran's nuclear program and was not a treaty but rather a United Nations-endorsed executive agreement between the parties. U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of this deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, several weeks ago
Until such a treaty can be reached, Pompeo warned that Iran would face tough sanctions that would leave it "battling to keep its economy alive." But he laid out no strategy for convincing Iran or the other participants in the original deal – the U.K., China, France, Germany, Russia and the European Union – to launch such a negotiation.
If Washington sees tangible shifts in Iran's policies, it is prepared to lift sanctions, Pompeo said.
"The sting of sanctions will only grow more painful if the regime does not change course from the unacceptable and unproductive path it has chosen for itself and the people of Iran," Pompeo warned. "These will be the strongest sanctions in history by the time we are done."
Pompeo vowed Trump's approach would ensure Iran would never develop a nuclear weapon. A new pact should require that Iran stop enrichment of uranium, which was allowed within strict limitations under the previous deal.
Pompeo outlined 12 U.S. demands for Iran, including halting uranium enrichment, never pursuing plutonium reprocessing and closing its heavy water reactor. Iran would also have to walk away from core pillars of its foreign policy, including its involvement in Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and Afghanistan, he said.
"This list may seem long to some, but it is simply a reflection of the massive scope of Iranian malign behavior," Pompeo said. "America did not create this need for changed behavior. Iran did."
Pompeo did offer Iran a series of dramatic potential U.S. concessions if it agrees to make "major changes." Under a new agreement, the U.S. would be willing to lift all sanctions, restore full diplomatic and commercial ties with Iran and even support the modernization of its economy, Pompeo said.
"It is America's hope that our labors toward peace and security will bear fruit for the long-suffering people of Iran," Pompeo said.
Still, Pompeo's list of 12 requirements included many that Iran is highly unlikely to consider. He said Iran must allow nuclear inspectors "unqualified access to all sites throughout the country," Pompeo said, alluding to military sites that were off-limits under the 2015 deal except under specific circumstances. To that end, he also said Iran must declare all previous efforts to build a nuclear weapon.
Last month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented proof of the existence of a secret nuclear program Iran developed and disbanded in 2003. Iran has repeatedly denied the existence of such a program.
Pompeo also demanded that Iran cease from a range of activities throughout the Middle East that have long drawn the ire of the U.S. and its allies. He said Iran must end support for Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen, "withdraw all forces" from Syria, halt support for its ally Hezbollah and stop threatening Israel.
Iran must also "release all U.S. citizens" missing in Iran or being held on "spurious charges," he said.
Taken together, the demands would require a complete transformation by Iran's government, and they hardened the perception that the administration is really seeking regime change. A longtime Iran hawk, Pompeo has spoken positively about regime change in the past, but in his confirmation hearing last month he sought to soften that stance.
Laying out Trump's new approach Monday, Pompeo said he couldn't put a timeline on how long the strategy might take.
Pompeo said if Iran made major changes, the U.S. was prepared to ease sanctions, re-establish full diplomatic and commercial relations and support the country's reintegration into the international economic system.
Any new U.S. sanctions will raise the cost of trade for Iran and are expected to further deter Western companies from investing there, giving hardliners, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an opportunity to cement their grip on power.
Pompeo said he understood that Trump's decision "will pose financial and economic difficulties for a number of our friends." But he warned them that the U.S. planned to follow through with threats to punish European companies that continue doing business with Iran – allowed under the deal but in violation of reimposed U.S. sanctions.
"I know our allies in Europe may try to keep the old nuclear deal going with Tehran. That is their decision to make," Pompeo said. "They know where we stand."
Iran's ruling elite are mindful of recent protests sparked by economic hardship, which is, in part, their calculation for working with the Europeans on ways to salvage the nuclear deal.
Pompeo's speech did not explicitly call for regime change but he repeatedly urged the Iranian people not to put up with their leaders, specifically naming President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
"At the end of the day the Iranian people will get to make a choice about their leadership," Pompeo said.
In response, Rouhani described Pompeo's speech as unacceptable and took issue with the fact that the secretary of state previously led the CIA, long demonized in Iran for its role in a 1953 coup.
"A guy who had been active in an espionage center for years now wants to make a decision for Iran and other countries from the position of a foreign minister. It is not acceptable under any circumstance," Rouhani said to a group of university teachers in Tehran. "Who are you to make a decision for Iran and the world and to tell Iran what to do and what not to do in the nuclear field?"
"The world today does not accept America to decide for the world, as countries are independent," he said. "That era is over. ... We will continue our path with the support of our nation."
Iran's foreign minister took to Twitter to criticize a speech Pompeo's speech, calling U.S. diplomacy a "sham" and saying that the U.S. is "imprisoned by delusions and failed policies."
"It repeats the same wrong choices and will thus reap the same ill rewards," Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote.
The Iranian foreign minister noted his country continues to work with Europe on "solutions" after Trump pulled America out of the 2015 nuclear deal.
A senior Iranian official said Pompeo's remarks showed that the United States was pushing for a "regime change," a charged phrase often associated with the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the overthrow of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
