Mike Pompeo
Mike PompeoReuters

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday that the US administration still had work to do to maintain pressure on Iran.

Speaking to the French daily Le Figaro and quoted by Reuters, Pompeo also said that the US administration and Europe need to work jointly on addressing actions led by Turkey in the Middle East over the past few months.

On the issue of the transition from one administration to the next following the presidential election, the Secretary of State expressed confidence in the commitment of the Trump administration to the constitutional setting of the election.

“The transition process will work and honor our internal and external obligations,” he stressed.

The Trump administration has regularly enforced sanctions on Iran since 2018, when it withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, and has ramped up the sanctions in recent weeks, after its efforts to extend a UN arms embargo on Iran did not succeed.

President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to reverse Trump’s decision and rejoin the 2015 deal if Iran returns to compliance with it, though officials have estimated that sanctions targeting Iran would persist into Biden’s administration.

Pompeo’s comments on Monday come ahead of his scheduled visit to Israel this week.