In an interview exactly one year after his "After the Deal: A New Iran Strategy" speech, Secretary of State Pompeo stated that "we laid down twelve changes we'd like to see in the behaviour of the Islamic Republic of Iran's senior leadership, its regime... none of those things have happened to date". He went on to cite Iranian support for proxies in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen as "the core challenge that Iran presents in the region". Asked about recent incidents off the UAE coast and Saudi Arabia, Pompeo indicated that "we haven't formed a definitive conclusion that we can speak about publicly, but given all the regional conflicts that we have seen over the past decade and the shape of these attacks, it seems like it's quite possible that Iran was behind these.. most importantly, we will continue to take acts that protect America interests and that work to deter Iran from misbehaviour in the region". "There are threats that are credible and real", Pompeo maintained, going on to say that "we've made clear that we will not allow Iran to hide behind its proxy forces, but that if American interests are attacked, whether by Iran directly or through its proxy forces, we will respond in an appropriate way against Iran".