Trump's Ukraine envoy "must put maximum pressure on Iran to change"

Keith Kellogg, Trump's nominee for the second U.S. administration's special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, has argued that the international community should put maximum pressure on Iran to change it.

Kellogg made the remarks at an event of the Iranian dissident group, the National Resistance Committee of Iran (NCRI), held near Paris, France on the 11th local time.Kellogg, a former general of the

army, stressed that pressure on Iran should not be limited to just military strength, but should also include economic and diplomatic pressure.

President-elect Donald Trump is said to have forewarned tougher sanctions on Iran to curb Iran's armed provocations in the Middle East and is considering preemptive strikes on nuclear facilities in Iran as well as economic sanctions.

The Iranian National Resistance Committee, which hosted the event, opposed the U.S. and pro-U.S. monarchy in the early days of its establishment, but has shifted to a pro-Western line since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, criticizing Iran's theocratic rule and oppression of human rights, and insisting on overthrowing the regime.

Kellogg had planned to visit Ukraine and Europe earlier this month before the inauguration of Trump's second administration, but has postponed the schedule since Trump took office.