Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary, Ali Shamkhani, cautioned that “the dismissal and installation of the U.S. officials and their presence in different positions would not change Iran's understanding of the nature of the U.S. measures and policies, as both Obama and Trump... pursued a similar policy of sanctions against the Iranian nation”. He added that “the unprecedented expansion of the Islamic Republic's regional power and the downing of the U.S.’s modern drone in the Persian Gulf exactly occurred during the period that [former US National Security Adviser John] Bolton was constantly threatening Iran… this clearly shows that Iran's strategic policies are not affected by the hostile approaches of figures like Bolton”.