WASHINGTON, July 14 — Michael Pompeo, the former US Secretary of State who served as a key architect of the Trump administration’s maximum pressure campaign against Iran, is being considered for a potential advisory or cabinet role in a second Trump administration in 2025, according to his record of service. Pompeo, born December 30, 1963, served as the 70th US Secretary of State from April 26, 2018, to January 20, 2021, under President Donald Trump.
Before that, he was Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from January 23, 2017, to April 26, 2018. A former US Army officer and lawyer, Pompeo also represented Kansas’s 4th congressional district in the House from 2011 to 2017.
Architect of maximum pressure
As Secretary of State, Pompeo was a central figure in the maximum pressure campaign against Iran. This included the US withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, in 2018, the reimposition of sanctions on Tehran, and the designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organisation on April 8, 2019. Pompeo was a vocal critic of the Iran nuclear deal and advocated for regime change in Iran.
He also supported the Soleimani strike in 2020, when a US drone attack killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad. The early findings suggest that Pompeo’s approach to Iran was among the most aggressive in recent US foreign policy.
His tenure saw the US take steps that had not been taken by previous administrations, including the terrorist designation of a foreign state’s military force.
A potential return
By 2025, Pompeo is a potential advisor or cabinet member in the second Trump administration. What this means for US foreign policy, particularly toward Iran, remains to be seen. The encouraging part for those who favour a hardline approach is that Pompeo’s record suggests continuity with his earlier positions.
Patients should talk to their doctor — well, voters and policymakers should consult their representatives — about what a Pompeo return could mean for US-Iran relations. The former secretary’s record on Iran is clear and consistent.
Whether that record becomes policy again is a question for the coming months.
