Pompeo presses Europe to get tough on Iran

Brussels, July 12: US secretary of state Mike Pompeo on Thursday pressed European nations to get tough on Iran by cutting off all funding the country may use to foment instability in the Middle East and beyond.

Mr Pompeo was meeting with European officials in Brussels following a summit of Nato leaders to make the case for clamping down on Iranian “terrorism and proxy wars.” He urged them to join a USled economic pressure campaign against Tehran that began in earnest after President Donald Trump withdrew from the landmark Iran nuclear deal in May.

“We ask our allies and partners to join our economic pressure campaign against Iran’s regime,” Pompeo said in a tweet ahead of his talks. “We must cut off all funding the regime uses to fund terrorism and proxy wars. There’s no telling when Iran may try to foment terrorism, violence & instability in one of our countries next.” The tweet was accompanied by a map accusing Iran of sponsoring at least 11 terrorist attacks in Europe since 1978. In another post, he said “Iran continues to send weapons across the Middle East, in blatant violation

We ask our allies and partners to join our economic pressure campaign against Iran’s regime — Mike Pompeo,

US secretary of state

of UN Security Council resolutions. Iran’s regime wants to start trouble wherever it can. It’s our responsibility to stop it.”

His comments came as other U. S. officials have fanned out around the globe to warn foreign governments to stop buying oil from Iran or face sanctions and after he accused Iran of using its embassies to plot terrorist attacks in Europe. “Just this past week there were Iranians arrested in Europe who were preparing to conduct a terror plot in Paris, France. We have seen this malign behavior in Europe,” he said.