Trump’s Top Iran Official Says Attempt to Storm Baghdad Embassy ‘Orchestrated by Iranian Regime’

President Donald Trump’s special representative for Iran appeared on CNN New Years’ Day to discuss the large-scale protests that roiled the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Iraq.

“Did you anticipate that you’d see the type of response that we’re dealing with right now? Were you at all concerned the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad would be a target?” Ryan Nobles asked Brian Hook Wednesday on CNN.

“The Iraqi government is responsible for the safety and security of those troops,” Hook said. “The base where our forces are stationed, that was attacked about 11 or 12 times in just two months. So we took the measures the president ordered, the necessary measures to protect our troops.”

Hook went on to directly link the protests to Iran.

“This is orchestrated by the Iranian regime. These are the kinds of tactics they used. 40 years ago they stormed our embassy. And here we are 40 years later and they’re directing the terrorist groups to then attack our embassy,” Hook said.

Nobiles asked if Hook felt the Iraqi government did enough to keep the protests under control.

Hook said the situation is “pretty calm” right now.

“The president and the secretary worked very closely with the Iraqi government. Their security forces have taken all the necessary measures to disperse the crowd there so that we’re not facing an imminent threat to American personnel or to the protection ever our facility in Baghdad,” Hook said.

Hook went on to say he doesn’t think the protestors represent the Iraqi people at-large.

“The regime does not enjoy the support of the Iraqi people. You had a handful of terrorists at our embassy yesterday but that does not represent the views of the Iraqi people who want Iran out,” he said.

Watch above, via CNN.

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