Britain Warns Of Iran-US Conflict, US Secretary Of State Mike Pompeo Meets Europeans

Iran and the United States could trigger a conflict by accident in an already unstable Gulf region, Britain’s foreign minister said on Monday, as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held talks in Brussels with the main European powers on the crisis.

President Donald Trump is seeking to isolate Tehran by cutting off its oil exports after pulling out of a 2015 deal aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear program. Trump has also beefed up the U.S. military presence in the Gulf to pressure Iran.

While the European Union shares some U.S. concerns about Iran, including over its involvement in the Syrian conflict, it still backs the 2015 nuclear deal, saying that it is in Europe’s own security interests.

“We are very worried about a conflict, about the risk of a conflict … of an escalation that is unintended,” Britain’s Jeremy Hunt told reporters in Brussels before talks with Pompeo.

Britain, Germany and France are signatories to the 2015 deal and their foreign ministers held separate meetings in Brussels on Monday with Pompeo.

Pompeo shared information on “escalating” threats from Iran during the meetings, the U.S. special representative for Iran Brian Hook told reporters.

Hook said Pompeo also discussed reported attacks on several oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.

Asked if Pompeo was blaming Iran for the attacks, Hook said: “We discussed … what seemed to be attacks on commercial vessels that were anchored off Fujairah … we have been requested by the UAE to provide assistance in the investigation, which we are very glad to do.”