The US envoy for Iran says the United States does not want conflict with Iran — but wants to build up international defenses in the region just in case.
Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook tells The Associated Press today that war with Iran “isn’t necessary.” He says “we are not looking for any conflict in the region,” but if the US is attacked, “we will respond with military force.”
Brian Hook, the US special envoy for Iran, during an interview in Paris, June 27, 2019. (AP Photo/Nicolas Garriga)
He says the US is trying to drum up support for an international naval force in the Persian Gulf, notably to protect oil tankers.
Hook estimates that Iran is still at least a year away from building a nuclear weapon. He won’t comment on whether Iran had surpassed a key 300-kilogram stockpile limit of low-enriched uranium, which Tehran had threatened to do by today.
Hook is meeting in Paris with European diplomats who are trying to keep alive the 2015 UN deal curbing Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Hook urged the Europeans to impose more sanctions instead.
— AP
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