In Support of the Iranian People

In Support of the Iranian People

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has repeatedly promised that the United States will hold the Iranian regime accountable for its human rights violations.

In keeping with that promise, as Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook recently announced, the United States has imposed sanctions on another senior Iranian official, IRGC Brigadier General Hassan Shahvarpour, over his role in the brutal repression of Iranian protesters:

“He oversaw the massacre of 148 helpless Iranians in the Mahshahr region last November. General Shavarpour was in command of units responsible for the violent crackdown and lethal repression around Mahshahr.”

Special Representative Hook said the United States has received over 88,000 tips through a tip line Secretary Pompeo established two months ago:

“We use this information to expose the criminality of the regime and to hold violators accountable. Since the violent crackdown on protests last November, the United States has sanctioned two judges and eight other regime officials for their roles in brutalizing the Iranian people.”

Mr. Hook pointed out that President Trump recognized the courage of the Iranian people in tweets he recently sent out in Farsi, after anti-government protests broke out following days of lies by the Iranian regime about its shooting down of a Ukrainian airliner.

Special Representative Hook noted that the Iranian people “are rightly blaming their own government for 40 years of corruption, mismanagement, and kleptocracy.”

He emphasized that the United States’ maximum pressure campaign to induce the Iranian regime to behave like a normal nation is leading to Iran’s economic and diplomatic isolation; and that the credible threat of military force by the U.S., if it is attacked, is restoring much needed deterrence. The campaign, Mr. Hook said, “is going to do more to advance peace and stability in the region than a policy of accommodation with the regime.”

Special Representative Hook noted that the United States has made clear it “would like to have our diplomacy met with diplomacy” from Iran, and that the regime’s rejection of “diplomatic off-ramps,” has led to Iran’s recent domestic crises.

But until the Iranian regime changes course, Secretary Pompeo has made a promise to the Iranian people: “America hears you. America supports you. America stands with you. We do so for your sake; for the sake of freedom; for the sake of basic human dignity.”