TEHRAN – Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh has said U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has a doctrine of whitewashing Israeli crimes and formalize the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
“The #PompeoDoctrine 101: Put Bibi's interest above that of even Americans who put him in office; Formalize Israel's occupation & whitewash Israeli crimes- no matter what,” Khatibzadeh wrote in a tweet on Friday.
Khatibzadeh added, “Silence criticism with bogus 'anti-Semitism label'; Waste US taxpayers money on private family tours.”
It came after Pompeo reiterated Washington’s support for Israel’s settlement activities in a Thursday visit to a settlement project in the occupied West Bank.
The controversial visit to the Israeli settlement, which is located near the city of Bireh, north of Jerusalem al-Quds, on the second day of his trip to the occupied Palestinian territories infuriated Palestinians.
Pompeo became the first top American diplomat to visit an Israeli settlement.
In a press conference, Pompeo reiterated the U.S. support for Israel’s settlement activity in the occupied West Bank.
Pompeo also said that the U.S. will label the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, which calls for a wide-ranging embargo against Israel over its treatment of the Palestinians, as anti-Semitic and “cancerous.”
“We will immediately take steps to identify organizations that engage in hateful BDS conduct and withdraw U.S. government support for such groups,” he remarked.
“We want to stand with all other nations that recognize the BDS movement for the cancer that it is,” he added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Pompeo for his “unwavering support” of Israel, first as CIA director and later secretary of state.
Meanwhile, Pompeo repeated Washington’s threats against Iran, saying all options remain on the table against the Islamic republic.
He made the remarks in an interview with the Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post when he was asked whether “all options still on the table” against Iran.
The U.S. secretary of state said this has been the policy of the United States for the past four years and there’s no reason it would change.
“My judgment is, and history will reflect, that we’ve been pretty successful,” he said.
“I remember when we first began the maximum pressure campaign. We’d withdrawn from the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action], and the world said this will never work, American sanctions alone won’t work,” he said.
“Well, they have significantly reduced Iran’s capacity to foment harm around the world. It’s not complete,” said Pompeo.
“[U.S. President Donald Trump] has done several things. One, he denied them money. That also sent a strong message to the Middle East that facilitated the Abraham Accords [through] this central understanding, this isolation of Iran in ways that are deeply different than before, whether it’s the [United Arab] Emirates or Bahrain or Sudan or whoever signs the Abraham Accords next,” he added.
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