Pompeo delivered a scathing speech on the Iranian leadership, addressing the country's diaspora at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, on Sunday.

While the US top diplomat fell just short of outright calling for an uprising against the Iranian government, which he likened to the "mafia," he instead resorted to Washington's favorite weasel words, promising that the US "will support the long-ignored voices of the Iranian people."

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Supporting the will of the people is what the US claimed to have done in Libya and Syria. The former is still lying in ruins years after the 2011 NATO-led military intervention, which saw the country plunge into political and economic chaos. The latter has been ravaged by infighting between Western-backed rebels, hardline extremists the likes of Al-Nusra and Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS), and government troops for the past six years.

In order to achieve that overarching goal, the US has launched a 24/7 channel that would reach out to the people in Iran and beyond through all means of communication available, including on television, radio, digital and social media, Pompeo formally announced.