Brian Hook, the head of Iran Action Team at the US State Department, pointed out the chants by the protesters in Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon and said: “The protesters in all three countries chanted against the regime of Iran. If the regime of Iran does not act like a normal country, it will face even heavier sanctions in 2020.”

In an interview with Bloomberg News, Brian Hook described the Islamic Republic as a regime that “prioritizes exporting its ideology to the welfare of its own people” and referring to the simultaneous protests in Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon, he emphasized: “People in each of these countries are tired of the corruption and the sectarian violence and economic hardships.”

Hook stated that the regime of Iran is experiencing the harshest financial crisis in the past 40 years and said if Iran’s rulers do not act like a normal country, they will suffer even heavier sanctions in 2020.

Hook emphasized that Iran is in an economic recession and their oil export is destroyed and foreign investments have stopped: “We want to increase the cost of the regime’s activities.”

Regarding the US attack on Iran-backed militia in Iraq, Hook reminded that in the past two months Iran-backed militia has attacked US bases over 12 times. He stated that the US defensive strikes were to deliver this message to Iran that they should stop their activities.