Secretary of State Pompeo underscored his assessment of "Iran as central to the instability we see in the Middle East today". He also asserted that the April 2019 decision to designate the IRGC as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) "permits us to go after those places where there's real wealth creation opportunity that ultimately gets to the Qods force... if we can take down that capacity, they won't be able to pay salaries and it will be more difficult for them to generate external terror". Asked by his interviewer whether "they're capable of changing, this regime?" Pompeo answered: "no, the individuals in this government aren't, and I know I hear lots of talk about moderates there. I just don't see it". "I think what can change is the people can change the government", he went on to say. "I don't see Rouhani changing, Zarif changing. I don't see Qassem Soleimani changing or the new leader of the IRGC. They are who they are; it's deeply imprinted... what we're trying to do is create space for the Iranian people".