Pompeo ready for Iran visit ‘if needed’
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday he was willing to go to Iran for talks amid tensions between Tehran and Washington, but also called on Japan, Britain and other nations to join a maritime force to guard oil tankers sailing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Asked if he would be willing to go to Tehran, Pompeo said in an interview with Bloomberg TV: “Sure. If that’s the call, I’d happily go there... I would welcome the chance to speak directly to the Iranian people.”
Tensions between Iran and the United States have ratcheted up since last year, when President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Iranian nuclear deal, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, saying it was not strong enough. Washington also reimposed sanctions on Tehran.
The relationship between the two countries has come under increased strain over the past three months following attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Iran.
Meanwhile, Iran has freed nine of 12 Indian crew from a Panama-flagged tanker seized on July 14, India’s foreign ministry said yesterday.
Iran had accused the MT Riah ship of smuggling contraband fuel when it was detained.
The release left 21 other Indians in Iranian detention however, including three from the MT Riah and 18 from the British-flagged Stena Impero tanker which was also captured by Iranian forces on July 19. Apart from the 18 Indians, there are three Russians, a Latvian and a Filipino on the ship.
India announced on Thursday that its diplomats in Iran had been given access to Stena Impero crew.
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