US tells Europe: Impose sanctions on Iran
Pompeo is set to meet European officials in Brussels this week as Iran launches missile
The Trump administration is urging Europe to impose tough new sanctions on
Iran over its ballistic missile program.
The call comes as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is to meet European officials in Brussels this week and after the US and others condemned an Iranian missile launch over the weekend.
Pompeo held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Brussels on Monday to discuss Iran and other regional issues. Pompeo, like Netanyahu, is an outspoken critic of Iran’s nuclear program and he condemned on Saturday the latest missile test by the Islamic republic.
Netanyahu often uses meetings with international officials to push his agenda of halting what he describes as Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Israel also sees Tehran’s moves to set up bases in neighboring Syria as a regional threat, along with the heavily armed Iran-backed militia Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Pompeo also plans to talk about Iran when he meets his counterparts from Britain, France and Germany on Tuesday while he is in Belgium for a meeting of NATO counterparts.
Pompeo mounted a staunch defense of US foreign policy, arguing that Washington is building a world order to fight cynical abuses by Russia, China and Iran.
On a visit to Brussels, the former CIA chief took aim at European critics who accuse the US of undermining global institutions, insisting that President Donald Trump is restoring America’s traditional leadership role.
He urged US allies to join Trump’s efforts and to assess honestly whether bodies like the World Trade Organization, the International Criminal Court and the International Monetary Fund are serving their citizens.
“Bad actors have exploited our lack of leadership for their own gain,” Pompeo told a gathering of diplomats in the European capital, ahead of talks at NATO.
“This is the poisoned fruit of American retreat. President Trump is determined to reverse that.”
US special envoy for Iran Brian Hook rejected Iran’s insistence that its missile program is defensive. He told reporters traveling with Pompeo that Iran’s continued missile development and testing is a threat to the region and beyond and in defiance of UN Security Council demands.
Hook said US discussions with the Europeans about missile sanctions are gaining traction. Those talks center on slapping penalties on companies and people involved in Iran’s program.
“It is a grave and escalating threat, and nations around the world, not just Europe, need to do everything they can to be targeting Iran’s missile program,” Hook said.