Tabnak – In line with its general strategy of intensifying pressure on Iran, US administration has formed an “Iran Action Group” to coordinate its anti-Iranian policies. The move comes as Washington is continuing its attempts to sanction Iran’s economic partners worldwide.
It was reported last night that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has formed a so-called “Iran Action Group” (IAG) to coordinate and run Washington’s aggressive policy against the Islamic Republic.
Pompeo announced the creation of the Iran Action Group (IAG) at a news conference on Thursday, naming Brian Hook, the State Department's director of policy planning, as its head.
The formation of the group comes on the eve of the 65th anniversary of a previous American action against Iran - the CIA-led 1953 coup against the democratically-elected government of Mohammad Mosaddegh.
"We are committed to a whole of government effort to change the Iranian regime's behavior and the Iran Action Group will ensure that the Department of State will remain closely synchronized with our interagency partners," Pompeo said, according to the official website of the US secretary of state.
"The IAG will also lead the way in growing efforts with nations which share our understanding of the Iranian threat," he added.
Speaking to reporters after Pompeo, Hook claimed Iran's "malign activities" were "wide-ranging" and Washington's new strategy was addressing all manifestations of "the Iranian threat". "The new Iran Action Group will be focused on implementing that strategy," added Hook, who will have the formal title of the Special Representative for Iran.
Meanwhile, some political analysts wondered if there was a message intended for Tehran by forming the action group.
Veteran political commentator in New York Don DeBar said there may be a message, but that it may not be intended for the Iranian people. "Personally, I suspect that if there was a message intended, it was for domestic consumption here, to make it appear that Trump is being tough while allowing him to strike a reasonable deal with Iran. It's the same tactic they used with North Korea.”
Meanwhile, American writer and political analyst Daniel Patrick Welch told Press TV that the United States “has always maintained a coterie of war planners intended on fomenting war with Iran.”
“The new and most significant piece here is the announcement by Pompeo, which amounts to more aggressive saber-rattling from the war dogs of Empire. Unfortunately for these, what is also new is the growing strategic integration between China and Russia, who are more determined than ever to prevent another reckless and murderous US war adventure,” he stated.
US President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the Iran nuclear agreement in May, and said that he plans to reinstate US nuclear sanctions on Iran and impose "the highest level" of economic bans on the Islamic Republic.
In August, Trump signed an executive order re-imposing many sanctions on Iran to levy "maximum economic pressure" on the Islamic Republic. Trump repeated his opinion that the 2015 international nuclear agreement with Iran was a "horrible, one-sided deal."
