United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered his much-anticipated Cairo speech on Jan. 10. The speech, delivered at the American University of Cairo, was supposed to be a rebuke of President Barack Obama’s policies and an overall of condemnation of Iran.
Pompeo mentioned Iran 27 times during his speech — far more than any other country ever has. He referred to Iran as “our common enemy,” criticized the previous administration for not supporting the 2009 Iranian post-election protests, and talked about US efforts to sanction Iran and roll back its regional influence, saying that the United States will work with partners to “expel every last Iranian boot” from Syria.