U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's incoming special envoy for Russia and Ukraine, while attending an Iranian opposition event in Paris, called for the return of "maximum pressure" against Tehran to push it to allow more democracy and to cease support for extremist elements in the Middle East.
"These pressures are not just kinetic, just not military force, but they must be economic and diplomatic as well," Keith Kellogg, a retired lieutenant-general, on January 11 told attendees at a gathering of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) – which Tehran considers a terrorist group.
SEE ALSO: Iran In 'Critical Situation' After Punishing Year At Home And AbroadTrump has vowed to return to the "maximum pressure" policy he pursued during his previous term, with the goal of hampering the Iranian economy enough to force it to negotiate its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and curb regional activities.
Trump in 2018 withdrew Washington from a landmark nuclear deal signed with world powers, reimposing crippling sanctions on Iran. Trump said the terms were not strict enough to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
In Paris, Kellogg said there were now opportunities "to change Iran for the better" but that "we must exploit the weakness we now see. The hope is there, so must too be the action."
It was not immediately clear if Kellogg's trip and statements on Iran policy were directly synchronized with Trump.
Trump on November 27 tapped Kellogg, who has long served as a top adviser on defense issues, as his nominee to be special envoy for Ukraine and Russia.
Earlier this month, Kellogg postponed a trip he was expected to make to Kyiv and other European capitals until after Trump takes office on January 20.
Meanwhile, Hussein Salami, commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), on January 11 warned the incoming administration that strategic miscalculations could lead to armed conflict.
He added that Tehran's military was not as weak as some believed.
"We know that such judgments are the dreams of the enemy, not realities on the ground," he said, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.
"Be careful, don't make any strategic mistakes or miscalculations," he said, without directly mentioning Trump.
The Trump administration in 2019 officially designated the IRGC a foreign terrorist organization.