“We are committed to addressing the totality of the Iranian threat,” US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said, asking European partners to stand up to “all of Iran’s malign behavior.”
Europe and the United States don’t want another nuclear threat like North Korea, “nor are any of our nations at ease with Iran’s attempts at hegemony in the Middle East through support for terrorist organizations, militias on the ground in Iraq and Syria, and an active ballistic missile development program,” he said.
Tillerson was speaking at the Wilson Center in Washington on the topic of ‘The US and Europe: Strengthening Western Alliances.’
With the defeat of ISIS on the ground, Iran has emerged as an influential player in Iraq and Syria. In Iraq, it backs the powerful Shiite militias and in Syria it is a key ally of Damascus, providing military support to regime forces and coordinating with Russia and Turkey in the Astana and Sochi peace initiatives.
“Call it what you want, a Shia area, a Shia crescent, or an area of Iranian influence – this is the situation now. It’s already in place,” Kasim Muslih, a commander within Iraq’s Iranian-backed militias, recently told the BBC’s Feras Kilani in eastern Syria.
Addressing his audience less than a week after fellow NATO member Turkey held a presidential summit with Russia and Iran, Tillerson said, “We ask Turkey as a NATO ally to prioritize the common defense of its treaty allies.”
Iran and Russia cannot offer the same economic benefits to Turkey as the West can, he said.
US President Donald Trump announced a new strategy on Iran last month – accusing Tehran of violating the spirit of the JCPOA nuclear deal and slapping terror-related sanctions on the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC). He said at the time that he hoped to “recruit” European support.
The European Union has continued to back the nuclear deal as a key mechanism for nuclear non-proliferation and regional security. The EU has insisted that other concerns, specifically ballistic missiles and increasing tensions in the Middle East, must be addressed outside of the JCPOA.
Iran has been in compliance with the nuclear deal.
