Iran is suffering from “a long-term economic tailspin” because its rulers made a “decision to prioritize an ideological agenda over the welfare of the Iranian people,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a speech on Sunday mapping out the Trump administration’s policy towards Iran.

The Secretary of State began by mapping out the case against the regime. He described the almost forty years that the clerics have ruled Iran as “Forty years of kleptocracy. Forty years of the people’s wealth squandered on supporting terrorism. Forty years of ordinary Iranians thrown in jail for peaceful expression of their rights.”

He explained that the founding principle of the Islamic Republic of Iran was “to conform all of Iranian society to the tenets of the Islamic Revolution,” and “to spreading the revolution to other countries, by force if necessary.”

“Thus, the regime has spent four decades mobilizing all elements of the Iranian economy, foreign policy, and political life in service of that objective,” Pompeo said. “To the regime, prosperity, security, and freedom for the Iranian people are acceptable casualties in the march to fulfill the revolution.”

Given the decision to follow a rigid ideological coded at the expense of the Iranian people, the secretary said, “during the time of the nuclear deal, Iran’s increased oil revenues could have gone to improving the lives of the Iranian people. Instead they went to terrorists, dictators, and proxy militias.”

Pompeo also charged that the money accrued by the regime goes straight to the pockets of the politically connected. This level of corruption, Pompeo said, indicates that “Iran is run by something that resembles the mafia more than a government.”

Despite his harsh words for the regime, Pompeo assured the people of Iran currently protesting against “40 years of regime tyranny,” that “the United States hears you; the United States supports you; the United States is with you.”

The secretary then outlined the administration’s policy to push Iran towards reform. He stated that the “center of this campaign is the re-imposition of sanctions on Iran’s banking and energy sectors.” He also said that the U.S. would target “regime leaders – especially those at the top of the IRGC and the Quds Force like Qasem Soleimani,” and asked those members of the international community who are “sick and tired of the Islamic Republic’s destructive behavior, to join our pressure campaign.” Specifically, Pompeo reached out to American allies in the Middle East to help put pressure on the Iranian regime to change.

In addition to applying external pressure to the Iranian regime, Pompeo explained that the U.S. would also seek to build internal pressure too.

“Today, one in four Iranians – 14 million people – watches or listens to U.S. Government broadcasts each week,” Pompeo said. “And it’s more important than ever now to refute the regime’s lies and repeat our deep desire for friendship with the Iranian people. Right now, our U.S. Board – Broadcasting Board of Governors is taking new steps to help Iranians get around internet censorship as well. The BBG is also launching a new 24/7 Farsi-language TV channel. It will span not only television, but radio, digital, and social media format, so that the ordinary Iranians inside of Iran and around the globe can know that America stands with them.”

Finally, America’s top diplomat said that the U.S. would seek to “shine a spotlight on the regime’s abuses and to support the Iranian people.” The overall goal of these efforts would be to “one day see Iranians in Iran enjoying the same quality of life that Iranians in America enjoy.”

After celebrating the success of a number of Iranians who have been successful in America, Pompeo outlined that the overall goal of the Trump administration with regard to Iran would be to force it to reform. “While it is ultimately up to the Iranian people to determine the direction of their country, the United States, in the spirit of our own freedoms, will support the long-ignored voice of the Iranian people,” he said. “Our hope is that ultimately the regime will make meaningful changes in its behavior both inside of Iran and globally. As President Trump has said, we’re willing to talk with the regime in Iran, but relief from American pressure will come only when we see tangible, demonstrated, and sustained shifts in Tehran’s policies.”

[Photo: U.S. Department of State / YouTube]