IRAN/MIKE POMPEO/SANCTIONS/STATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday [8-16-18] named senior policy adviser Brian Hook as Washington’s special representative for Iran. The move came as the Trump administration prepared to increase economic pressure on Iran by restoring sanctions to force Tehran to end its nuclear weapons program and support for militant groups in the Middle East. Hook will lead a newly established Iran Action Group to coordinate the State Department’s pressure campaign on Iran, Pompeo told a news conference. The announcement was not a surprise. Hook, who has pushed for tough action against Iran, has been leading the department’s talks with allies in Europe and Asia to persuade them to support U.S. sanctions and cut off Iran’s oil supplies as of November…President Donald Trump announced in May the United States was withdrawing from an Iran nuclear deal sealed in 2015 between Tehran and six world powers. The United States has said it would only end the sanctions if Iran allowed the negotiation of a tougher deal.”
–Lesley Wroughton, “U.S. Secretary of State names Brian Hook special envoy for Iran,” Reuters, August 16, 2018 11:59 am