Iran must be “crushed” and America should tell Israel to “finish the job”, according to former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo.
Speaking at a Policy Exchange event in London with journalist Charles Moore, the former head of the CIA said “every peace-loving nation” should admit that “the problem lies in Tehran” and should stand with Israel “every step of the way” to defeat Iran.
“We should all be worried about getting dragged into another war in the Middle East — that’s why Iran has to be crushed,” said Pompeo, adding: “This is how you avoid a war in the Middle East.”
Asked by Channel 4’s Cathy Newman what he meant by “crush”, the Republican said this entails destroying Iran’s proxies in Syria, Iraq and Yemen while showing Tehran that the costs of its “terror campaign” exceed the benefits.
Pompeo also criticised what he viewed as President Joe Biden’s confusion, saying the US could not claim to have an “iron-clad” defensive relationship with Israel but also demand a ceasefire. “If there had been a ceasefire when President Biden demanded, [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah would still be alive today.” He went on: “Most of the Hamas senior leadership would be alive today, there’d be 400 more Hezbollah terrorists threatening Israel today. Iron-clad? I don’t see how you hold these two thoughts in your head together.”
Pompeo’s comments come amid a significant escalation in the Middle East, with Iran firing almost 200 missiles at Israel on Tuesday night. Israel has undertaken significant successful military operations recently in Lebanon, notably planting explosives on hundreds of Hezbollah pagers and killing most of Hezbollah’s leaders. Consequently Iran vowed revenge, and after Tuesday’s barrage, Israel has done likewise with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying Iran “has made a big mistake” and “will pay”. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was “deeply concerned that the region is on the brink” and that Britain recognises Israel’s right to defend itself. Defence Secretary John Healey confirmed that British forces “played their part in attempts to prevent further escalation”.
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SubscribeWhat do people mean when they say this risks a wider Middle East war? Do we expect other Arab nations to join Iran in a war against Israel? I don’t see that happening, but maybe I’m wrong. I thought all the Arab nations can’t stand Iran.
Not good, not good at all and, tragically, could all stop in an instant……..but instead and no one knows why anymore( or’s that bothered) they’d rather continue the violence …….subject their people to more misery, destruction and damned to the dark ages. Won’t end well….for any of us and that’s why it has to stop.
So his idea to prevent a war in the Middle East is to start a war in the Middle East?
Against Iran, Hezbollah, and perhaps Houthi-controlled Yemen.
The Sunni states and the Shia who dislike the Ayatollahs are unlikely to join in; Syria is probably not, as they’re in shambles, and Russia is busy.