Pompeo says willing to go to Iran as he calls on UK to join naval force in Gulf

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks to the media at Andrews Air Force Base, near Washington - AFP
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks to the media at Andrews Air Force Base, near Washington – AFP

The US secretary of state said on Friday he was willing to travel to Iran for talks, as reports emerged that the regime had test-fired a medium-range missile.

Mike Pompeo, who has taken a hard line against Tehran as part of a US maximum-pressure policy, also challenged Boris Johnson to overturn his predecessor’s decision not to join a US operation to protect ships from Iranian attacks. 

“Sure. If that’s the call, I’d happily go there,” he told Bloomberg. “I would welcome the chance to speak directly to the people.”

Tensions between Iran and the US have ratcheted up since last year, when President Donald Trump withdrew America from the nuclear deal, saying it was not strong enough.

Mr Trump and Iranian leaders have both publicly said talks were possible, but the prospect for dialogue appeared to recede on Wednesday when the top military adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tehran would not negotiate with Washington under any circumstances.

<span>British Royal Navy's HMS Montrose, a Type 23 Frigate, performing turns during exercise "Marstrike 05", off the coast of Oman</span> <span>Credit: AFP </span>
British Royal Navy’s HMS Montrose, a Type 23 Frigate, performing turns during exercise “Marstrike 05”, off the coast of Oman Credit: AFP

As Mr Pompeo made his offer, it emerged that the regime had Wednesday night tested what appeared to be a medium-range ballistic missile, according to a US defence official quoted in US media.

The Shahab-3 missile was launched from the southern coast of Iran and landed east of Tehran. It flew about 680 miles and stayed inside Iran for the entire flight.

Missile launches are not a violation of the nuclear deal that Iran signed in 2015 with the US and other world powers, including the UK. 

President Trump, however, wants to see Tehran’s missile programme curbed as part of a new deal he wants to hammer out with the Iranian regime.

Mr Pompeo also called on Britain and other nations to join a maritime force to guard oil tankers sailing through the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf.

Theresa May and her foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt rejected an offer from the US to join Operation Sentinel before leaving office, choosing instead to join a separate European protection force. 

The decision has faced criticism after the British tanker Stena Impero was seized by Iran, triggering questions about whether enough had been done to ensure protection. 

“Every country that has an interest in ensuring that those waterways are open and crude oil and other products can flow through the Strait of Hormuz needs to participate,” Mr Pompeo said, adding that Washington had already asked Japan, France, Germany, South Korea, Australia and other nations.

Mr Pompeo discussed Iran during a call on Thursday with his new UK counterpart, Dominic Raab, who has been appointed Foreign Secretary by Mr Johnson.  It remains unclear whether a Johnson government will substantially change the approach to Iran adopted during Mrs May’s premiership. 

A senior diplomat in Japan, Washington’s key Asian ally, said that Tokyo was not in a position to decide if or how it could join any maritime force until the US provided a blueprint of how such an operation would work.

Meanwhile, Iran and the UK are still locked in a stand-off over the fate of two impounded ships. However, Tehran on Friday released nine Indian crew members from a Panama-flagged tanker they seized on July 14 for allegedly smuggling Iranian fuel.

source: yahoo.com