WASHINGTON, Sept 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States said it will
make its case against Iran at the United Nations this week, insisting it
wants to give diplomacy “every opportunity to succeed” in the wake of a
devastating attack on a vital Saudi oil complex.
Setting the stage for President Donald Trump’s address to the annual UN
General Assembly on Tuesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo put aside threats of US military retaliation against Iran for the attack.
“President Trump and I both want to give diplomacy every opportunity to
succeed,” Pompeo said in an interview with ABC’s “This Week.”
“Our administration’s taking this on in a serious way and we are working
diligently to see that this has a diplomatic outcome,” he said.
“But make no mistake about it, if we’re unsuccessful in that and Iran
continues to strike out in this way, I am confident that President Trump will
make the decisions necessary to achieve our objectives.”
The United States has accused Tehran of carrying out the air attacks
that set aflame Saudi Arabia’s Abqaiq plant and the Khurais oil field
September 14, knocking out half the kingdom’s oil production.
Trump ordered stepped up sanctions against Iran, and a
relatively modest deployment of US troops to the Gulf, primarily focused on
defensive missions like air and missile defense.
On Sunday, before leaving the White House on a trip to Texas, Trump once
again left open the possibility of an unscheduled meeting on the sidelines of
the UN General Assembly with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
“Nothing is ever off the table, completely, but I have no intention of
meeting with Iran and that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen,” Trump said. “I’m a very flexible person, but we have no intention. It’s not set up.”
The US diplomatic offensive comes as Iran has sharpened its tone with a
warning from a Revolutionary Guard Corps commander that Iran is “ready for any type of scenario.”
“Whoever wants their land to become the main battlefield, go ahead,” Major General Hossein Salami told a news conference in Tehran.
Pompeo defended the US strategy of applying “maximum pressure”
on Iran through sanctions against criticism it has resulted in Iran lashing
out.
He said the US sanctions campaign was just getting started.
“We hope the United Nations will take a strong position. It was designed
exactly for this kind of thing, where one country attacks another country and we hope the United Nations will rally around what it is.” — NNN-AGENCIES
