UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Thursday announced that London supports Washington's right to defend itself, but that tensions must be de-escalated in the Middle East through diplomatic means
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th January, 2020) UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Thursday announced that London supports Washington's right to defend itself, but that tensions must be de-escalated in the middle East through diplomatic means.
"Useful talks with [US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo] yesterday, focused on Iran and a range of bilateral issues. UK recognises the US right to self-defence and the serious threat Iran poses in the region. We need to de-escalate tensions, and we discussed the need to find a diplomatic way forward," Raab wrote on Twitter.
Pompeo and Raab also discussed means to strengthen the US-UK relationship after Brexit and the need for secure 5G telecommunications networks, the US State Department said in a readout of the meeting on Thursday.
The talks between the two ministers follow both parties' condemnation of Iranian missile strikes on two military bases in Iraq. On Wednesday, Raab urged Tehran not to conduct any more "reckless and dangerous attacks," in a statement published on the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office's website.
Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of an Iraqi Shia militia group, were among those killed in the early hours of Friday by a US drone attack near Baghdad International Airport. Soleimani and al-Muhandis were blamed by Washington for organizing demonstrations at the US Embassy in Baghdad on December 31.
US President Donald Trump said the recent strikes were a preemptive, defensive move to prevent war, although later claimed that Washington had identified 52 further Iranian targets at which US forces are ready to strike. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani vowed that Tehran would retaliate against Washington and launched attacks early on Wednesday against two US military bases in Iraq.
