U.S. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster called on Saturday for more forceful action to halt Iran's development of what he said was an increasingly powerful network of proxy armies in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq.
McMaster accused Iran of escalating a campaign to increase its influence in the Middle East by building and arming "Hezbollah-style" proxy armies in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere as it has done in Lebanon.
The goal was to weaken Arab governments and turn the proxy forces against those states if they pursued policies that ran counter to Tehran's interests, he said.
"So the time is now, we think, to act against Iran," he told the Munich Security Conference, calling on U.S. allies to halt trade, which he said was helping underwrite the expansion of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the most powerful military and economic force in the Islamic republic.
The United States deems Lebanon's Hezbollah a terrorist organization.
"What's particularly concerning is that this network of proxies is becoming more and more capable," he said.
Iran has denied accusations that it meddles in the affairs of its Middle East neighbors and has dismissed calls to stop supporting groups such as Hezbollah. Iran has also said it would adhere to commitments under the 2015 international nuclear agreement between Tehran and six world powers, seeking to limit its disputed nuclear program.
McMaster railed against the 2015 nuclear accord, saying investments made by German firms and others were helping fund Iran's missile program and its other activities in the Middle East.
Echoing U.S. President Donald Trump's view, he said it was time to address "serious flaws in the Iran deal and counter Iran's destabilizing activities including its development and proliferation of missiles."
Trump has been pushing for changes to the 2015 nuclear agreement, while Iran insists it is implementing the deal and has warned Washington of consequences if the accord is scrapped.
"We will adhere to our commitments made," Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said at an event in New Delhi. "After signing a contract, haggling with it is ridiculous."
"If the U.S. violates this agreement … you will see that America will regret this decision," he said adding his country had always adhered to contracts as long as the other party did not violate it.
McMaster, meanwhile, said those who invested in Iran were essentially funding activities by Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
He said Iran's biggest trading partners were Russia and China, but also included Japan, South Korea and Germany.
"As a matter of international security and moral conscience we must stop doing business with [Revolutionary Guard-] affiliated interests, encourage the development of a true commercial sector in Iran and pressure the regime to respect the rights of its people," he said.
A senior Russian diplomat, Sergey Kislyak, said that Washington's efforts on the Iran nuclear deal would represent an "enormous blow" to nonproliferation efforts.
"We want this treaty … to continue," he said. "We hear more and more signals from Washington to the extent that they are considering revisiting the participation in the treaty. If that is going to happen, that would be an enormous blow to the collective effort to make sure that nonproliferation efforts survive."
In related news, Rouhani on Friday strongly criticized the Trump administration's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and urged Muslims to support the Palestinian cause.
Addressing a congregation after Friday prayers at Mecca Masjid in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad during a three-day visit to India, Rouhani also lashed out at the United States for imposing a ban on travelers from six largely Muslim countries and called for unity between the Sunni and Shia sects of Islam. The Iranian leader said Shias, Sunnis and people of other ethnicities coexisted peacefully in Iraq and Syria for centuries until the West created discord there.
Rouhani also referred to the fatal shooting of 17 people at a Florida high school and said this showed that material progress alone could not guarantee peace in the U.S.
