On April 21, former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo joined members of the House Republican Study Group of 146 Republican conservatives on Capitol Hill to support the Maximum Pressure Act, legislation that would guarantee that sanctions against Iran would continue almost indefinitely. The new legislation was introduced by Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN).
The act states that sanctions on Iran can be lifted only if Iran meets 12 demands that Pompeo specified in May 2018. They include allowing full international access to observe and inspect Tehran’s nuclear activity; Iran would have to end production of a considerable amount of its ballistic missiles; release all American and international prisoners “detained on spurious charges"; Iran must end its support for groups declared as terrorist and proxy fighting forces in Iraq and Syria; accountability for human rights abuses; and so forth.
