During a press conference at the State Department Tuesday morning, Secretary Mike Pompeo pushed back on assertions from MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell that the United States is a threat to Iranian culture.
"Every action we take will be consistent with international rule of law. The American people can rest assured that is the case," Pompeo said. "Let me tell you who's done damage to the Persian culture. It's not the United States of America. It's the Ayatollah. If you want to look at who has denied religious freedom, if you want to know who has denied the Persian culture's rich and steeped in history and intellect and they've denied the capacity for that culture to continue. If you go back and look at the holidays around Cyrus and Nowruz they have not permitted people to celebrate. They have not allowed people that they have killed, that Qassem Soleimani killed, they have not allowed them to go mourn their family members. The real risk to Persian culture does not come from the United States of America. There is no mistake about that."
"You're not really wondering, Andrea"
— Elizabeth Harrington (@LizRNC) January 7, 2020
This is how you respond to the far-left media gotcha questions
The media is happy to spew the talking points of the Iranian regime. @SecPompeo is not having it! pic.twitter.com/lXquZGg6Aw
Pompeo reiterated his statement on Twitter.
Suddenly @JZarif cares about Persian culture. No one has damaged Persian culture more than the Islamic Republic — disrespecting Cyrus and holidays like Nowruz, prohibiting dancing, and putting an end to religious tolerance. Iran’s regime has defiled everything Iranians hold dear.
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) January 7, 2020
The United States was founded on tolerance. We have great respect for Persian history and its symbols, like Persepolis, Naqsh-e Jahan Square, and the Tomb of Cyrus. @khamenei_ir’s corrupt regime should listen to the people of #Iran. They want their culture and their country back.
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) January 7, 2020
Over the weekend, President Trump tweeted a warning to the Iranain regime against retaliation for Soleimani's death, which he backed up to reporters on Air Force One.
....hundreds of Iranian protesters. He was already attacking our Embassy, and preparing for additional hits in other locations. Iran has been nothing but problems for many years. Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have.....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2020
....targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2020
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