Al-Monitor - United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered his much-anticipated Cairo speech on Jan. 9. The speech, delivered at the American University of Cairo, was supposed to be a rebuke of President Barack Obama�s policies and an overall of condemnation of Iran.

Pompeo mentioned Iran 27 times during his speech � far more than any other country ever has. He referred to Iran as �our common enemy,� criticized the previous administration for not supporting the 2009 Iranian post-election protests, and talked about US efforts to sanction Iran and roll back its regional influence, saying that the United States will work with partners to �expel every last Iranian boot� from Syria.

The speech, however, failed to set a new tone or even reset the narrative Obama had presented in Cairo in 2009. Former Obama adviser Ben Rhodes tweeted, �Mike Pompeo attacked a speech that Barack Obama gave 10 years ago by giving a speech that no one will remember next week.� Former US diplomats also panned the speech, with one former official saying of their focus on Obama�s Cairo speech, �Get over it.� Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif echoed a similar sentiment, tweeting, �Best for the US to get over the loss of Iran,� referencing US influence in Iran before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

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