By MATTHEW LEE, AP Diplomatic Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Biden administration has determined that Iranian threats against former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and one of his former top aides remain credible and linger nearly two years after they left office.
The State Department told Congress last week that both Pompeo and Brian Hook, who served as special envoys on Iran during the Trump administration, still face a “serious and credible threat from a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power.” be their work during the reign.
The provisions – which mean Pompeo and Hook will continue to receive state protection – were signed into law by Assistant Secretary of State for Management Brian McKeon on Nov. 8 and sent to Congress on Nov. 9, according to notifications obtained by The Associated Press.
“I hereby state that the specific threat regarding former Secretary of State Michael Pompeo remains intact,” McKeon wrote. He used identical language to refer to the threat against Hook.
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The AP reported in March that the State Department paid more than $2 million a month to provide round-the-clock security for Pompeo and Hook. The latest findings — the eighth for Hook and fifth for Pompeo since she left the government in January 2021 — did not find a dollar amount for the protection.
The notifications do not specifically identify Iran as the source of the threats, but Iranian officials have long vented their anger at Pompeo and Hook for abandoning the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, including labeling it Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a “foreign terrorist organization”. ” and subjecting it to unprecedented sanctions.
Additionally, some Iranian officials have accused them of giving the green light to a US drone strike that killed IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad in January 2020.
The State Department had no immediate comment on the notifications. Hook declined comment, and a spokesman for Pompeo did not immediately respond to a request.
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