Secretary of State Mike Pompeo argued that “appeasing terrorists, appeasing those who have hegemonic desires, appeasing those who are underwriting militias all throughout the region and destabilising the Middle East, cannot possibly be the right course of action. It would put them on a pathway to a nuclear weapon, and we should never give Iran that chance”. Relatedly, the U.S. Special Representative for Iran, Elliott Abrams, opined that “the Biden administration has a great opportunity because there is so much leverage on Iran through the sanctions… If we discard the leverage we have, it would really be tragic and foolish. But if we use it there is a chance I think for constructive agreement that addresses all of these problems”.