Iran Press/Europe: Mike Pompeo will hold talks with European officials on Iran and other issues on Monday before heading to Russia to talk also on Iran and Washington-Moscow affairs, a US State Department official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Pompeo will meet President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in the Black Sea resort of Sochi as planned on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
On his first trip to Russia as US secretary of state, Pompeo is expected to discuss with Putin and Lavrov the “aggressive and destabilizing actions” Moscow has taken around the world, a senior state department official said last week.
Pompeo would reiterate US concerns about Russia’s role in Venezuela and Syria and its breach of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, as well as Russian attempts to meddle in US elections, the official told reporters in a preview of his trip.
US Secretary of State: “Our aim is not war”
While US said that forces sent by the military to the Middle East is a move for countering threats from Iran to American forces in the region", a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) air force commander said the US military presence in the Persian Gulf now represented as a target.
Speaking to CNBC in an interview to be broadcast on Monday, Pompeo claimed that the US deployments were aimed both to deter threats and to be able to respond if necessary.
"In the event that Iran decided to come after an American interest - whether that be in Iraq or Afghanistan or Yemen or any place in the Middle East - we are prepared to respond in an appropriate way,” he said, adding “Our aim is not war.”
Last week, European countries said they wanted to preserve Iran’s nuclear deal after Iran eased some commitments of it 2015 international pact.
US President Donald Trump stepped up economic pressure on Iran by oil and metal sanctions recently. 101/205
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