Keith Kellogg, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming special envoy to Ukraine, said Saturday at an Iranian opposition event in Paris that the world wants to take “the utmost measures” against Iran to transform it into a more democratic country. “We have to go back to the ‘pressure’ policy,” he said.
President Trump has vowed to return to the policies he pursued during his previous term, when he sought to destroy Iran’s economy in order to force the country to negotiate agreements over its nuclear program, ballistic missile program and regional activities.
“These pressures have to be not just athletic, they have to be economic and diplomatic, not just military,” said retired Lt. Gen. Kellogg, who will serve as Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, in Paris. told the audience. National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) is an Iranian opposition organization.
He said there is an opportunity to “change Iran for the better,” but this opportunity will not last forever.
“We must take advantage of the weaknesses we see now. There is hope, so we must also take action.”
“France’s acceptance of terrorist groups is a clear example of support for terrorism and a violation of the French government’s international legal obligations to fight terrorism,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
A new era?
Kellogg has spoken at NCRI events in the past, most recently in November. Still, his presence in Paris, even in a personal capacity, suggests the group has the ear of the new U.S. administration.
He postponed a visit to European capitals earlier this month until after Trump’s inauguration as president on January 20.
It is unclear whether he will use his visit to Paris to meet with French officials to discuss the Ukraine issue. There was no immediate comment from the French presidential office, foreign ministry or Trump’s transition team.
Incoming US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also spoken at NCRI events in the past. The group has repeatedly called for the collapse of the existing Iranian authorities, but it is unclear how much support it has within Iran.
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NCRI president-elect Mariam Rajavi opened the event in Auvers-sur-Oise, the group’s headquarters on the outskirts of Paris, by saying that the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has shifted the balance of power in the region. He said the situation had changed unfavorably to Iran’s leadership. And the “devastating blow” suffered by Hezbollah, its most important ally, was the war with Israel.
“The time has come for Western governments to abandon their past policies and now stand by the Iranian people,” she said.
The NCRI, the political wing of the People’s Mujahideen Organization of Iran (PMOI), frequently holds rallies in France, often attended by former US, European and Arab officials critical of the Islamic Republic.
