As noted by Lloyd Austin, the United States seeks to solve the problem around the nuclear deal with Iran through diplomacy but is ready to use any means.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin called Iran one of the main threats to the Middle East region. He expressed this opinion while speaking on Saturday in the capital of Bahrain at the Manama Dialogue conference organized by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.
“I would like to name four of the most important challenges we face. This is a pandemic, climate change, terrorism, and Iran,” said the head of the Pentagon, whose speech is broadcast live on the conference website.
Speaking about the situation around the nuclear deal with Tehran, Austin made it clear that Washington is determined to resolve this issue through diplomacy, but is ready to use any means to ensure its own security. “I would like to express my concern about the destabilizing actions of the Iranian leadership, including its support for terrorism, its dangerous accomplices, and the nuclear program. The United States is committed to preventing Iran from having nuclear weapons. We adhere to solving this issue by diplomatic methods, but if Iran does not want to get involved [in resolving the problem] seriously, then we will use all available means to protect the security of the United States,” he said.
“We and our partners are returning to negotiations on the nuclear deal in good faith, but Iran’s actions in recent months cannot be called encouraging, especially because of the expansion of its nuclear program,” the Pentagon chief stressed.
At the same time, he noted that the United States is making every effort to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program.
