U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday warned Iran not to pursue nuclear weapons, saying it would face the "wrath of the entire world" if it did so, but added that he hoped it would never be necessary for the United States to take military action against the Islamic republic.
"I hope they [Iran] understand that if they begin to ramp up their nuclear program, the wrath of the entire world will fall upon them," Pompeo told MSNBC.
"If they began to move toward a weapons program, this would be something the entire world would find unacceptable, and we'd end up down a path that I don't think is in the best interest of Iran, other actors in the Middle East, or indeed the world," he said.
However, Pompeo was quick to scale down his saber-rattling tone, saying that "wrath" was not hinting at a military option.
"When I say wrath, don't confuse that with military action. When I say wrath, I mean the moral opprobrium and economic power that fell upon them. That's what I'm speaking to. I'm not talking to military action here. I truly hope that that's never the case. It's not in anyone's best interests."
Pompeo said that U.S. President Donald Trump has been "very clear" on Iran, when he said, "Iran will not get a nuclear weapon nor start its weapons program on this president's watch."
Pompeo speaking for the rest of the world may be something of a stretch considering that Washington's May 8 decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal sparked global condemnation, including from America's biggest allies, the U.K., France and Germany, which urged Trump to remain in the accord.
Among Trump's most vocal critics was EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, who stressed that the deal was "not a bilateral agreement and it is not in the hands of any single country to terminate it unilaterally."
Pompeo's comments came the same day that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemned Washington's uninvited military presence in Syria and warned that the country could become a second Vietnam War for Washington.
In his interview, Pompeo rebuffed the suggestion that the U.S. had "separated from our allies on the issue of Iran," saying that although allies may have disagreed with Washington's move to withdraw from the accord, they understand the wider threat posed by Iran.
"When I talk to my Arab friends, the Israelis, all of those in the region, they are right alongside us. And even when I speak to the Europeans, with whom we have a difference about the JCPOA [the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] they, too, understand the threat that Iran presents, whether it's malign activity with [Lebanese terrorist group] Hezbollah or in Yemen, in Syria or in Iraq, or its missile program that is launching missiles into airports that Westerners travel through," he said.
"There is a unified understanding of Iran's malevolent behavior, and it will be an incredibly united world should Iran choose to head down a nuclear weapons path," Pompeo added.
The fate of the Iran deal remains unclear. Iranian officials have made contradicting statements, saying both that Iran will remain part of the pact while warning it is gearing up to exit it and resume nuclear activity.
