Secretary of State Mike Pompeo opined that as Iranians “now think they may have a president come into office that will do a deal with them again, they’re going to raise their level of activity to threaten”. He further argued that “the approach that the Trump administration has taken with respect to Iran was the right one, and that we ought not go back to the policies of the previous years to our time in office”. Referring to Iranian threats against the U.S., Pompeo maintained that “we’re on guard. We’re always ready. It’s been the case for four years… we will do the right thing to deter them, to prevent them from having the resources to inflict costs”. “If they decide to take action”, he warned, “I am very confident that the Trump administration will respond”.