BENSON: I know that you can’t get into too much of the intelligence as you just said, but are there any additional details about the nature of the threat matrix that you’ve been seeing from Iran in the last few days? And can you comment at all on The New York Times report this morning that some of this may have been related to new images of sea-based missiles from Iran?

POMPEO: OK, it’s important for everyone to understand that this is 40 years of aggression by the Islamic Republic of Iran, so to put it into just three days or five days or seven days takes out of context the threat and the desires of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

BENSON: Right.

POMPEO: So all of this – all of this is part and parcel of the challenge of a revolutionary regime that wants the 'Great Satan' and Israel to go away. So you have to take the data set along with – right – it’s always about capability and will, demonstrated will, ill will against the United States of America. So the things that you see, and I can’t comment on the New York Times story, other than to say that the things that you’ve seen us do to attempt to achieve deterrence against the Islamic Republic of Iran, from their malign activity, is a direct response to eight years of an administration that allow the terror regime to expand. Right?

During the JCPOA, we had increased missile capabilities coming out of Iran. We had their capacity to deliver harm from Houthi rebels in Yemen -- all of these things Iran did happened because the previous administration appeased the Islamic Republic of Iran. So we are pushing back, and when you push back, tension does increase. Our mission set is very clear. We know what we’re asking the Iranian leadership to do, and we are very focused on achieving that, and we’re trying to do so in a way to make sure that we keep every American diplomat and every American soldier, sailor, airman and Marine safe as well.