Pompeo Warns Iran Not to Attack U.S. Through Terror Proxies

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Iran not to attack the United States through its terror proxies in a Sept. 21 interview with CNN.

When asked about Iran and the recent attack on the U.S. embassy in Iraq, Pompeo said Iran has been “the world’s largest state sponsor of terror for quite some time,” pointing to Hezbollah, the Houthis in Yemen and the Shia militias in Iraq as examples of Iranian proxies.

“We have told the Islamic Republic of Iran that using a proxy force to attack an American interest will not prevent us from responding against the prime actor,” Pompeo said. “That is, we will not let Iran get away with using a proxy force to attack an American interest. Iran will be held accountable for those incidents.”

When Pompeo was asked if that using military action against Iran, Pompeo replied, “If they’re responsible for the arming and training of these militias, we’re gonna go to the source.”

Mortars were fired at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad on Sept. 7 and on Sept. 8 rockets were launched at the U.S. consulate in Basra; no damages or injuries were reported in either case. The United States has blamed the attacks on Iranian-backed Shia militias.