Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a statement entitled “The Importance of Sanctions on Iran”, in which he argued that “the maximum pressure campaign against the Iranian regime continues to be extraordinarily effective” and contended that “reducing that pressure is a dangerous choice, bound to weaken new partnerships for peace in the region and strengthen only the Islamic Republic”. He further suggested that Iran’s increased nuclear activity “is indeed troubling, but even more disturbing is the notion that the U.S. should fall victim to this nuclear extortion and abandon our sanctions… The world must never reward nuclear threats with a cash appeasement”.