US State Department Prepares Budget to Counter Tehran’s Regional Activities

Assistant Secretary for the US State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker (state.gov)
Assistant Secretary for the US State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker (state.gov)
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US State Department Prepares Budget to Counter Tehran’s Regional Activities

Assistant Secretary for the US State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker (state.gov)
Assistant Secretary for the US State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker (state.gov)

David Schenker, assistant secretary for the US State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, told the Congress that 2020’s fiscal year budget will focus primarily on countering Iran's influence.

He said Iran is a “provocative and malicious player” that threatens US allies and intervenes in the affairs of Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, and other regional countries.

In a session held by the House Foreign Affairs’ Middle East and South Africa Subcommittee, Schenker said the US administration’s strategy on Iran primarily focuses on “neutralizing Iran's destabilizing influence and constraining its malign activities, particularly in support for terrorism and militants.”

“Strong diplomatic, economic and security measures must be bolstered by US assistance programs that support key partners and seek to deny access and influence to Iran and its proxies,” he stressed.

“Resources requested in this budget will counter Iran’s malign influence in Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen by working through our local partners.”

For instance, Schenker said the State Department’s budget for 2020 allocates $50 million in military assistance to Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF).

He added that this US support seeks to counter the influence of both Hezbollah and its patron, Iran. A strong and independent LAF capable of defending Lebanon is critical to undermining Hezbollah's false claims of legitimacy.

“This request also increases support to the Iranian people and the free flow of information.”

“The White House’s fiscal year 2020 foreign assistance budget request of $6.6 billion for the region will support national security priorities to counter Iran’s malign influence, ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS, support persecuted religious and ethnic minorities throughout the region and maintain support to key allies and critical partnerships across the region,” he explained.



Iran Top Diplomat Rejects Direct Negotiations with US

Iranian demonstrators walk on representations of the Israeli and US flags during the annual anti-Israeli Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day rally in support of Palestinians, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP)
Iranian demonstrators walk on representations of the Israeli and US flags during the annual anti-Israeli Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day rally in support of Palestinians, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP)
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Iran Top Diplomat Rejects Direct Negotiations with US

Iranian demonstrators walk on representations of the Israeli and US flags during the annual anti-Israeli Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day rally in support of Palestinians, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP)
Iranian demonstrators walk on representations of the Israeli and US flags during the annual anti-Israeli Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day rally in support of Palestinians, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP)

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday rejected direct negotiations with the United States as "meaningless", after US President Donald Trump said he would prefer direct talks with Tehran.

Trump had called last month on Tehran to hold negotiations on its nuclear program with Washington, but threatened to bomb Iran if diplomacy fails.

On Thursday, the US president said he would prefer to hold "direct talks" with Iran.

"I think it goes faster and you understand the other side a lot better than if you go through intermediaries," he argued.

But on Sunday, Araghchi said "direct negotiations would be meaningless with a party that constantly threatens to resort to force in violation of the UN Charter and that expresses contradictory positions from its various officials".

"We remain committed to diplomacy and are ready to try the path of indirect negotiations," he added, according to a foreign ministry statement.

"Iran keeps itself prepared for all possible or probable events, and just as it is serious in diplomacy and negotiations, it will also be decisive and serious in defending its national interests and sovereignty," Araghchi said.

On Saturday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country was willing to engage in dialogue with the US "on equal footing".

He also questioned Washington's sincerity in calling for negotiations, saying "if you want negotiations, then what is the point of threatening?"

- Nuclear program -

Western countries, led by the United States, have for decades accused Tehran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.

Iran rejects the allegation and maintains that its nuclear activities exist solely for civilian purposes.

On Saturday Hossein Salami, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, said the country was "ready" for war.

"We are not worried about war at all. We will not be the initiators of war, but we are ready for any war," the official IRNA news agency reported him as saying.

In 2015, Iran reached a landmark deal with the permanent members of the UN Security Council, namely the United States, France, China, Russia, and the United Kingdom, as well as Germany, to regulate its nuclear activities.

The 2015 agreement formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)gave Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program to guarantee that Tehran could not develop a nuclear weapon.

In 2018, during Trump's first term in office, the United States withdrew from the agreement and reinstated biting sanctions on Iran.

A year later, Iran began rolling back on its commitments under the agreement and accelerated its nuclear program.

On Monday, Ali Larijani, a close adviser to supreme leader Ali Khamenei, warned that while Iran was not seeking nuclear weapons, it would "have no choice but to do so" in the event of an attack against it.