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Friday, August 17, 2018, 12:31
US sets up action group to press Iran, coordinate efforts
By Xinhua
Friday, August 17, 2018, 12:31 By Xinhua

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a press briefing in Washington DC, the United States, Aug 16, 2018. (LIU JIE / XINHUA)

WASHINGTON - US State Department announced Thursday the creation of the Iran Action Group (IAG) to execute the administration's Iran strategy, coordinate the "whole-of-government" effort in this respect and pressure Iran to change its behaviors. 

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the group will be responsible for directing, reviewing, and coordinating "all aspects of the State Department's Iran-related activity, and will report directly to me." 

Saying that Tehran has been engaged in "a torrent of violent and destabilizing behavior" against the United States and its allies for nearly 40 years, Pompeo said, "We are committed to a whole-of-government effort to change the Iranian regime's behavior."

We are committed to a whole-of-government effort to change the Iranian regime's behavior

Mike Pompeo, US Secretary of State

"Our hope is that one day soon we can reach a new agreement with Iran," he said. "But we must see major changes in the regime's behavior both inside and outside of its borders." 

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The IAG will ensure that the Department of State remains closely synchronized with interagency partners, and lead US diplomatic efforts to "galvanize international support for our efforts."

Brian Hook, the current director of policy planning at the State Department, will lead the group with the formal title of Special Representative for Iran. 

Hook said the new US strategy on Iran "addresses all manifestations of the Iranian threat" and his action group will focus on implementing the Iran strategy as outlined by Pompeo in his 12-point requirements in May. 

 "A lot of our work is going to be built around advancing those 12 areas -- mostly around nukes, terrorism, and the detention of American citizens arbitrarily detained," he said. 

Hook said the Trump administration will continue to build "the broadest level of international support" for its strategy, as teams from the State Department and the Treasury Department have visited 24 countries in the world. 

Hook added that "the sanctions relief, the re-establishment of full diplomatic and commercial relations with the United States, and economic cooperation with the United States can only begin after we see that the Iranian regime is serious about changing its behavior." 

READ MORE: Global outcry as US exits Iran nuclear deal, Rouhani firm

Washington left the Iran nuke deal on May 8, saying it would re-impose sanctions on Iran that had been lifted under the deal. Pompeo rolled out on May 21 a new strategy on Iran, outlining 12-point requirements for Iran to change its behaviors. 

The US government on Aug. 8 re-imposed sanctions on Iran on non-energy areas, and would slap the remaining sanctions on Nov. 5 that concentrate on such areas as energy, shipping and ports. 

 For its part, Tehran has said that the US side is unreliable, and it will not talk with Washington.  

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