Support justice-driven, accurate and transparent news — make a quick donation to Truthout today!
With the Trump administration moving ahead Monday with punishing new sanctions against Iran with the goal of completely halting the country’s oil exports, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reportedly joked about a secret White House plot to overthrow the Iranian government during a private meeting with Iranian-American “community leaders.”
According to Axios, when asked last week whether the Trump administration has considered “the idea of a coup” in Iran, Pompeo responded: “Even if we did, would I be telling you guys about it?”
The room “broke out in laughter,” Axios reported, citing three anonymous sources in attendance, including one who shared “detailed contemporaneous notes” with the news outlet.
The secretary of state also reportedly said the administration is “careful not to use the language of regime change” and insisted the U.S. has no plans to intervene militarily in Iran.
Pompeo’s remarks came exactly one week before the Trump administration is expected to unveil sanctions against all countries that continue to import Iranian oil, a significant escalation of the Trump administration’s so-called “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran.
“As of May 2, the State Department will no longer grant sanctions waivers to any country that is currently importing Iranian crude or condensate,” the Washington Post’s Josh Rogin reported on Sunday.
According to a senior State Department official who spoke to the Post on condition of anonymity, “The policy of zero Iranian imports originated with Secretary Pompeo. He has executed this policy in tight coordination with the president every step of the way.”
Tyler Cullis, policy associate at the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), called the Trump administration’s sanctions policy “evil” and said the goal is to force Iran to walk away from the international nuclear accord, which the White House violated last year.
“There has been no more significant foreign influence campaign than the one to get the United States into a war with Iran,” Cullis argued.
https://twitter.com/TylerCullis/status/1120096721147781120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1120096721147781120&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2F2019%2F04%2F22%2Famid-push-new-oil-sanctions-pompeo-reportedly-jokes-about-secret-coup-plot-against
During his meeting with Iranian-American community leaders last week, Pompeo was reportedly asked how he could guarantee the U.S. sanctions against Iran would not harm the Iranian people.
“There are no guarantees,” Pompeo responded, according to Axios.
Important Message: Please Read
For 25 years, Truthout has survived by publishing impactful investigative journalism and analysis; distributing full editions 365 days a year; and building a community of readers who support us with small, hard-earned donations.
Eighty percent of our $3 million yearly budget comes from small donors alone. Of those, 8,000 readers support us with monthly donations. Back in 2018, when Facebook decided to suppress the circulation of posts made by organizations, thereby cutting readers off from seeing many articles shared by the news organizations they had intentionally decided to follow, Truthout’s total traffic declined by 40 percent, as nearly all of our traffic from that platform disappeared.
Now, Google has recently rolled out its AI search bar, providing AI summaries instead of directing readers to our site. Google Search is our single largest source of traffic; it’s the route by which nearly one third of our readers find us. Much like in 2018, a shocking 40 percent of our Google traffic has disappeared overnight.
It will not be easy for Truthout to shoulder this blow. Nor will it be easy for our peers and collaborators — news sites that depend on traffic and aren’t bankrolled by large corporations.
If you can support Truthout with a donation today, you can help us resist the AI onslaught. Please give today.