In Morocco, US representative Brian Hook slams Iran and Hezbollah

The US-Iranian crisis was at the heart of senior White House advisor Jared Kushner’s visit to Morocco. Received, Tuesday, by King Mohammed VI, Donald Trump’s son-in-law was accompanied by the United States Special Representative to Iran and Senior Policy Advisor to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. 

Hook is also the head of the Iran Action Group, a dedicated group formed by Mike Pompeo in August 2018 to coordinate US policy toward Iran. The Iran Action Group is meant to «direct, review and coordinate all aspects of the State Department’s Iran-related activity», Pompeo said while announcing the group’s creation.

This group reflects the new strategy adopted by Pompeo on May 21, 2018, in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear accord with Iran.

Brian Hook, Hezbollah and Morocco

While in Morocco, Brian Hook presented Washington’s newly developed strategy that targets Iran’s finances and Hezbollah. In a statement quoted by MAP news agency, Hook referred to the Lebanese Shiite organization four times.

Morocco cut diplomatic ties with Iran on May 1, 2018, accusing the country of providing support for the Polisario Front through the Lebanese party. Interviewed by far-right American outlet Breitbart News, Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita said that «while the US and other allies view Hezbollah as a military threat», the party is seen as a dangerous body in «North Africa».

Speaking Tuesday to MAP, Hook said that the «US foreign policy, save the Iranian nuclear deal, gives us more leverage to dissuade Iran from carrying out its regional aggression plots and from supporting Hezbollah and other proxies».

Moreover, Hook stressed that Washington will keep putting pressure on the Iranian regime. «We made Iran face the exorbitant cost of its violent foreign policy», he said.

In September, Brian Hook and Nasser Bourita met in Washington. The Moroccan minister was heading a delegation that attended the UN General Assembly.