Thread by @jseldin

"We have deprived this regime of a lot of money" @StateDept Special Representative for #Iran Brian Hook tells #AspenSecurity, calling #Tehran "the epicenter for terror financing, money laundering"

"Today we see Iran losing its grip..." he says, defending US max pressure campaign

"The door continues to be wide open for diplomacy" with #Iran, per @StateDept's Brian Hook

"The supreme leader has chosen resistance over diplomacy. That's his decision"

"We pulled forward the expiration date of the #Iran nuclear deal so that we wouldn't have to deal w/an Iran that was much richer, its proxies are richer & it retained most of its nuclear infrastructure" @StateDept's Hook tells #AspenSecurity about #JCPOA

Moderator @NewsHour's @nickschifrin: "You didn't pull forward the expiration date. You left"

"For as long as #Iran is allowed to enrich, we're going to be having this discussion" replies @StateDept's Hook

"Iran does use nuclear blackmail in order to win concessions" he adds "They are regularly threatening the Europeans"

"We've not put in place the leverage necessary, in terms of pressure & isolation & all of that, in order to get the type of deal that's necessary" per @StateDept's Hook "We've got to get no enrichment restored"

US strike killing #Iran #Quds Force Commander Qassem #Soleimani had impact

"We have seen a change in their tempo, w/their proxies" per @StateDept's Brian Hook

"You've seen the tactical displacement of #Iranian troops in #Syria" per @StateDept's Hook "We have seen a collapse among the Iraqi people for tolerance of Iranian interference & #Iran knows it is now playing a very weak hand in #Iraq"

"We have seen a pretty marked shift since the killing of Qassem #Soleimani. He was the indispensable man" per @StateDept's Hook, defending his assessment of support for #Iran in the region "There's been a big change since Qassem Soleimani was taken off the battlefield"

"On the intelligence side, I think we are well-postured with a lot of good ppl" per @StateDept's Hook, defending US ability to see into/assess #Iran

"There are a lot of efforts underway. I know that Iran is a priority...That will continue"

.@POTUS decision to pull out of #Iran nuke deal - "I think it's gotten us to a pretty bad place, quite frankly"
former US Under Secretary of State @wendyrsherman tells #AspenSecurity

"We have no deal. #Iran is now enriching at higher levels w/more centrifuges. They are still supporting proxies in the region. They are still undertaking malign behavior in he region" per @wendyrsherman "They are still abusing the rights of their own people"

"What it has gotten them,& Brian [Hook] said this himself, is resistance&actions, in my view, in the wrong direction" per @wendyrsherman "The admn has had a series of tactics but it is not clear to me at all what the strategic objective is...#Iran is nowhere close to negotiating"

"We've seen with #Russia no overarching strategy, no ability to take on #Russia, including whether Russia's given weapons to the #Taliban, whether they've offered bounties for killing American soldiers. Absolutely no action in that regard" per @wendyrsherman