Top U.S. General Says Iran’s Behavior Unchanged despite Washington’s Warnings

Iran’s behavior has not changed since President Donald Trump put the country “on notice,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford said at a public conference at the Brookings Institution earlier today. “From my perspective, the major export of Iran is actually malign influence across the region,” he explained. “You’ve got a very aggressive proxy war; we’ve seen that in Yemen. We see their influence in Syria. We see their malign influence in Lebanon, as well as in Iraq and the rest of the region. So, I haven’t seen a change, certainly in the past month,” he added. The top American general said he would not comment on whether or not designating the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.) as a terrorist entity is prudent. “I’ll leave that to others,” he said. “My domain is the military dimension, so what we have made sure is that in the United States Central Command that has the responsibility for Iran, our military posture is there to make sure we have freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and that we deter conflict and crisis in the region and we advance our interests, to include our interests in dealing with violent extremism of all forms.”

Comment: The Trump administration put Iran “on notice” for two key reasons: the Islamic Republic’s support for terrorism in the region and its controversial missile activity that Washington says violates the U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231 and threatens regional stability. In a clear defiance of Washington and its allies, Iranian leaders have made it clear that they will continue both their missile program and involvement in regional wars. Last week, for example, Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour, the chief commander of the I.R.G.C.’s Ground Forces, said Iranian military forces will continue to assist the “resistance front” in regional countries. Similarly, Iranian military and civilian leaders have emphasized they will defy Washington’s pressure and will further increase the production of ballistic missiles.