State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus fired back at Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif after he took aim at Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for implying that Iran was uncivilized.
Ortagus tweeted at Zarif, saying, “Does the FM of the world’s top sponsor of terrorism consider hanging gays from cranes, stoning women, repressing minorities, allowing 9-year-old girls to be married off & jailing protestors of the compulsory hijab civilized? No wonder the Iranian people hate this backward regime.”
Does the FM of the world’s top sponsor of terrorism consider hanging gays from cranes, stoning women, repressing minorities, allowing 9-year-old girls to be married off & jailing protestors of the compulsory hijab civilized? No wonder the Iranian people hate this backward regime. https://t.co/uFSb441r3P
— Morgan Ortagus (@statedeptspox) September 7, 2019
Ortagus’ tweet came in response to Zarif’s earlier tweet, which took aim at Pompeo and said, “Do you even know what CIVILIZED means, @SecPompeo? Is it sending drones over weddings to kill innocents? Piracy on the high seas? Maybe it’s pouring lethal weapons into a region to enable inhuman wars? Or, is it a millennia-old nation that hasn’t attacked anyone for centuries?”
On Friday, Pompeo had tweeted, “Iran announced it will violate all limits on nuclear research and development. The fact that Iran retains massive uranium enrichment capacity reveals a core weakness of the Iran deal.”
Iran announced it will violate all limits on nuclear research and development. The fact that Iran retains massive uranium enrichment capacity reveals a core weakness of the Iran deal.
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) September 6, 2019
“We are confident that the UK, France, and Germany – indeed, all civilized nations – will take decisive actions to stop Iran’s nuclear extortion,” he added.
We are confident that the UK, France, and Germany – indeed, all civilized nations – will take decisive actions to stop Iran’s nuclear extortion.
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) September 6, 2019
Pompeo’s tweets came after Iran announced further steps in their nuclear program that would stray further from the 2015 nuclear deal – the Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action (JCPOA).
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed on Monday that Iran had expanded its uranium enrichment efforts by implementing more advanced centrifuges.
The centrifuges were operating over the weekend to enrich uranium hexafluoride (UF6) which is used to make nuclear weapons.
A greater number of advanced centrifuges could mean that Iran is ramping up their production of materials needed for a nuclear weapon.
The nuclear deal had restricted Iran’s limit on enriched uranium to 300 kilograms. However, Iran surpassed that limit earlier this year.
