U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton delivered a harsh warning to Iran Tuesday, saying that the defiant regime in Iran must change its ways as the United States is "watching and we will come after you," adding that there will be "hell to pay" if Iran's aggression continues.
Bolton's saber-rattling remarks before the United Against Nuclear Iran annual summit came hours after U.S. President Donald Trump addressed the U.N. General Assembly and urged "all nations to isolate Iran's regime as long as its aggression continues."
Taking aim at the belligerent rhetoric used by Irans leaders, Bolton said, "According to the mullahs in Tehran, we are the 'Great Satan,' lord of the underworld, master of the raging inferno, so, I might imagine they would take me seriously when I assure them today: If you cross us, our allies, or our partners; if you harm our citizens; if you continue to lie, cheat, and deceive – yes, there will indeed be hell to pay.
"The United States is not naive. We will not be duped, cheated, or intimidated. The days of impunity for Tehran and its enablers are over. The murderous regime and its supporters will face significant consequences if they do not change their behavior. Let my message today be clear: We are watching, and we will come after you," he stated.
Touching on the 2015 nuclear accord, from which Trump pulled out on May 8, Bolton said, "The Iran deal was the worst diplomatic debacle in American history. It did nothing to address the regime's destabilizing activities or its ballistic missile development and proliferation. Worst of all, the deal failed in its fundamental objective: permanently denying Iran all paths to a nuclear bomb."
The statement echoed Trump's U.N. address, in which he stated that the U.S. "cannot allow the world's leading sponsor of terrorism to possess the planet's most dangerous weapons."
Bolton noted that "the ayatollahs have a choice to make. We have laid out a path toward a bright and prosperous future for all of Iran, one that is worthy of the Iranian people, who have long suffered under the regime's tyrannical rule."
The U.S. has imposed new sanctions on Iran's oil industry and more severe U.S. sanctions against the Islamic republic's banking and energy sectors are slated to go into effect in the first week of November.
"We expect purchasers of Iranian oil to reduce to their imports to zero by Nov. 4, or face the risk of sanctions," Bolton said. "After Nov. 5, President Trump intends to pursue additional sanctions "beyond those that existed prior to the Iranian nuclear deal," Bolton added, as he vowed a "maximum pressure" campaign against those who defy these sanctions.
He further dismissed an EU plan for a special payments plan to circumvent U.S. sanctions against Iranian oil sales and pressed the SWIFT global payments messaging system to rethink dealing with Tehran.
"The European Union is strong on rhetoric and weak on the follow-through. We will be watching the development of this structure that doesn't exist yet and has no target date to be created. We do not intend to allow our sanctions to be evaded by Europe or anybody else."
The United States would be "aggressive and unwavering" in enforcing economic sanctions on Iran and it would not allow the European Union or anyone else to undermine them," Bolton said.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also spoke at the UANI and criticized world nations for "enabling" Iranian-sponsored terrorism by working with Iran to bypass U.S. sanctions.
"Just a few months ago, authorities across Europe arrested several Iranian operatives … as part of a plot to plant a bomb at a political rally in France," Pompeo said, before praising France for taking retaliatory economic action against Iran.
"Unfortunately, just last night, I was disturbed and indeed deeply disappointed to hear remaining parties in the [nuclear] deal announce they are setting up a special payment system to bypass U.S. sanctions," Pompeo said, according to Fox News.
"This is one of the most counterproductive measures imaginable for regional and global peace and security."
