Pompeo accuses Biden administration of having ‘soft spot’ for Iran amid Houthi attacks

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused the Biden administration of having a “soft spot” for Iran amid the Houthi rebels attacking merchant vessels in the Red Sea. 

Pompeo, who has been critical of President Biden’s foreign policy course, said the current administration’s approach towards Tehran stems from the Obama administration and that it is not possible to negotiate with the Middle Eastern country. 

“The Biden administration has this soft spot for Iran,” Pompeo said Sunday in an interview with radio talk show host John Catsimatidis on WABC 770 AM’s “Cats Roundtable.” “Since the very beginning. It’s something that came from the Obama team.” 

Pompeo highlighted the current administration lifting the terrorist designation for Houthis in Yemen and further lamented that, in his view, it is not possible to negotiate with Tehran. 

“The Trump administration designated the Houthis as terrorists,” Pompeo said. “They lifted that terrorist designation. They simply don’t understand that you can’t negotiate with the Iranians. There is no possibility to negotiate with the regime in Iran … As long as the Biden administration won’t confront the problem — the head of the snake — we are likely to see continued high prices here in the United States, and risk to our service members that are serving in the region as well.”

The current administration removed the label in 2021 and weighed reimposing the Houthis in Yemen as a foreign terrorist organization in January, a response following months-long attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea. 

The Houthis have been attacking and disrupting trade routes in the region in protest against Israel’s siege in the Gaza Strip. The attacks have drawn forceful responses from the U.S. military and its allies.  

Since the attacks started, some shipping companies have redirected their vessels to alternate routes, avoiding the Gulf of Aden and taking a longer path, which costs more money. 

“It’s unexplainable to me how we have allowed these knuckleheads, these rebels, call them what you will, they go by the tribal name of Houthis – why we haven’t gone in there and destroyed their capacity to… control not only the flow of oil, but all the products that move through [the Red Sea],” Pompeo said.  

“We saw the tragedy this past week in Baltimore. We know what happens when ports get shut down, and how it affects the economy.”