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By John Irish
PARIS (Reuters) – The world must return to a policy of exerting maximum pressure on Iran to transform it into a democracy, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump told Ukraine’s envoy Keith Kellogg (NYSE: ) at an anti-Iran event in Paris. Saturday.
Trump has vowed to reverse his previous policy of undermining Iran’s economy to force the country to agree on its nuclear program, ballistic missile program and regional activities.
Kellogg, the retired Lt. Gen. who is set to serve as Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, told an audience in Paris that “these pressures are not just movements, they are not military, but they have to be economic and diplomatic.” Established Iranian opposition group National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).
He said there is an opportunity to “change Iran for the better” but this opportunity will not last forever.
We must take advantage of the weakness we see now, the hope is there, and the action must be.
He has previously spoken at NCRI events, most recently in November, but his presence in Paris, albeit in a personal capacity, suggests the group has the ear of the new US administration.
Kellogg postponed a trip to European capitals earlier this month after Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
It was unclear whether they would use their trip to Paris to meet with French officials to discuss Ukraine. The French president, the foreign ministry, Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has spoken at NCRI events in the past. It is not known how much support the group has in Iran, but it has repeatedly called for the downfall of the current Iranian authorities.
Speaking at the start of the event held at the group’s headquarters in Ouvers-sur-Oise on the outskirts of Paris, NRI president-elect Maryam Rajavi said the regional balance of power had shifted in favor of Iran’s leadership alongside Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. And the “stabbing blow” inflicted by its most important ally, Hezbollah, is the war with Israel.
“It is time for Western governments to abandon the policies of the past and stand with the people of Iran this time,” she said.
The NCRI, the political arm of the Popular Mujahideen Organization of Iran (PMOI), has held frequent rallies in France, often featuring prominent former US, European and Arab officials criticizing the Islamic Republic.
