At a press conference with his Swiss counterpart, Secretary Pompeo posited “there’s real challenges inside of Iran today. They’re not caused by our economic sanctions. They’re caused by 40 years of the Islamic regime not taking care of its people… they have used their resources in ways that fundamentally undermine the well-being of their own country”. Discussing Iran’s nuclear activities, he asserted that “we’re tracking closely the work product of the IAEA. We also have our own independent understanding of what’s taking place there”. “We are watching closely as they put centrifuges into work, and whether they’re actually beginning to spin those centrifuges and load those centrifuges”, Pompeo added. He also went on to declare that “we’re prepared to engage in a conversation with no preconditions. … But the American effort to fundamentally reverse the malign activity of this Islamic republic, this revolutionary force, is going to continue”. Iran’s diplomatic spokesperson hit back at Pompeo’s offer, describing it as “word-play and expression of hidden goals in the form of new words”, and saying that “Mr. Pompeo’s insistence on U.S. campaign of maximum pressure against Iran indicated the continuation of their wrong approach which needs to be corrected”.