US, Poland plan global meeting to pressure Iran: Pompeo

MANAMA: The United States and Poland will hold an international meeting on the Middle East that will seek to build pressure on Iran next month, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday.

Pompeo made the announcement on a tour of the Middle East aimed at reassuring US allies after President Donald Trump’s shock decision to withdraw all US troops from Syria, which sparked concerns among Arab states and Israel that Iran’s influence could grow.

The United States and Poland in a joint announcement said that ministers from around the world will be invited to take part in the February 13-14 meeting in Warsaw.“We’ll bring together dozens of countries from all around the world,” Pompeo told Fox News.

They will “focus on Middle East stability and peace and freedom and security here in this region, and that includes an important element of making sure that Iran is not a destabilizing influence,” the top US diplomat added.

The joint statement, however, did not explicitly mention Iran, saying that the meeting was focused on “creating a more peaceful and stable Middle East.”“The ministerial will address a range of critical issues including terrorism and extremism, missile development and proliferation, maritime trade and security, and threats posed by proxy groups across the region,” it said.

A State Department spokesman acknowledged that Poland, like other European nations, supports the international accord from which Trump exited last year on ending the Iranian nuclear program.

The Warsaw meeting “sends an important signal that countries with differing views on the nuclear deal can come together to address other critical issues in the region,” the spokesman said.

France tells Iran to stop ballistic missile work designed for nuclear weapons: France on Friday called on Iran to immediately stop all activities linked to ballistic missiles that could carry nuclear weapons after Tehran said it could put two satellites into orbit in the coming weeks.

“France recalls that the Iranian missile program is not conform with U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231,” Foreign ministry spokeswoman Agnes von der Muhll told reporters in a daily briefing.