Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Iran committed a “state-on-state act of war,” by attacking oil facilities in Saudi Arabia.
Partial transcript as follows:
MARAGARET BRENNAN: You are the only U.S. official who has directly and definitively blamed every single part of these attacks on Iran. Is there any question that the attack was launched from Iran?
POMPEO: No reasonable person doubts precisely who conducted these strikes. And it is the intelligence community’s determination that is likely the case that these were launched from Iran. You- you’ve seen the pictures-
BRENNAN: Likely.
POMPEO: –that came from the north- that came from the north. It was a sophisticated attack. These weapons systems had ranges that could not have come from the Houthis. It is crazy for anyone to assert that they did. I mean it is literally nuts on its face to make an assertion that this was an attack by the Houthis. This was Iran true and true, and the United States will respond in a way that reflects that act of war by this Iranian revolutionary regime.
BRENNAN: It was launched from Iran?
POMPEO: This was an attack by Iran on the world. This was an act of war. I’m here at the U.N.
BRENNAN: Okay. Because the president hasn’t–
POMPEO: The U.N- the U.N.- the U.N.’s- the U.N.’s primary–
BRENNAN: –been that specific–
POMPEO: –the U.N’s primary charter–
BRENNAN: –and other countries haven’t either.
POMPEO: –is to prevent state on state attack–
BRENNAN: And Saudi Arabia hasn’t either.
POMPEO: The U.N.’s primary charter is to protect peace around the world. This was a state on state act of war.
BRENNAN: Iran’s foreign minister as you may have heard has repeatedly denied any part played by Iran in this attack. Will the U.S. release evidence that proves he’s lying?
POMPEO: Well, we already have. There- there’s already ample evidence that demonstrates that he’s lied. You saw the Saudis showing these were Iranian systems built- built and manufactured inside of Iran.
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