LONDON: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Britain on Wednesday to pitch a post-Brexit ‘special relationship’ as Iran said it may stop complying with some parts of the big-power nuclear deal that the United States withdrew from a year ago.
Pompeo arrived in London after an unannounced visit to Iraq where he set out US security concerns amid rising tension with Iran.
The US military said on Tuesday that B-52 bombers would be among the additional forces being sent to the Middle East to counter what President Donald Trump’s administration says are “clear indications” of threats from Iran to US forces there.
“The message that we’ve sent to the Iranians, I hope, puts us in a position where we can deter, and the Iranians will think twice about attacking American interests,” Pompeo said. US intelligence was “very specific” about “imminent” attacks, he said.
Iran announced on Wednesday it was relaxing curbs on its nuclear program under the 2015 deal with world powers, and threatened to do more — including enriching uranium to a higher level — if other countries did not shield it from US sanctions.
In London, Pompeo was due to meet Prime Minister Theresa May, who has been grappling for three years with a political crisis over Britain’s planned exit from the European Union.
Pompeo met Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and the spiritual leader of the Church of England, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, to discuss religious freedom and the persecution of Christians, and was due to meet Hunt again later.
As Britain tries to extract itself from the EU after 46 years of membership, a divorce many diplomats say has already made Britain weaker, Pompeo will give a speech on America’s so-called special relationship with the United Kingdom.
Both Brexit and the sometimes unpredictable Trump presidency have strained relations between the world’s preeminent power and its main European ally. Trump is due to make a state visit to Britain in June.
Washington is at odds with London over how much access Huawei Technologies should be given to next-generation communication networks using 5G technology.
Britain will allow Huawei a restricted role in building parts of its 5G network, even though the United States had told allies to exclude Huawei for fear that it could be a vehicle for Chinese spying. Huawei has categorically denied this.
“We know about the risks that the presence of Huawei and their networks present,” a State Department official said ahead of the visit.
“It makes it more difficult then for the United States to be present if equipment is co-located in places where we have American systems as well. It makes partnering more difficult.”
5G, which will offer much faster data speeds and become the foundation stone of many industries and networks, is seen as one of the biggest innovations since the birth of the Internet itself a generation ago.
Pompeo visits Brexit Britain as Iran reduces nuclear compliance
Pompeo visits Brexit Britain as Iran reduces nuclear compliance
- US secretary of state to meet PM May and Hunt
- Pompeo to address post-Brexit “special relationship”
Pakistan says 34 militants killed in counterterror operations in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa this week
- Security forces carried out a series of ‘high tempo intelligence-driven operations’ this week in the two provinces
- The counterterror operations take place amid surging tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces killed 34 militants this week in the southwestern Balochistan and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces bordering Afghanistan, the military’s media wing said on Wednesday amid a surge in militant attacks in the country.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, said security forces carried out a series of “high tempo intelligence-driven operations” this week in the two provinces. It said 26 militants belonging to the Pakistani Taliban or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) outfit were killed while eight militants were killed in Balochistan in the operations.
In the first counterterror operation on Tuesday, Pakistani forces targeted a TTP militant who was trying to enter the country in North Waziristan through the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the ISPR said. Three TTP militants were killed in a second counterterror operation in Lakki Marwat district, the military added.
In the third counterterror operation, 10 TTP militants were killed in Bannu district while 12 others were gunned down in North Waziristan in another separate operation, the ISPR said.
“During the fifth engagement, own troops conducted an intelligence-based operation in the general area of Sambaza, Zhob District,” the military’s media wing said in a statement.
“After an intense fire exchange, eight terrorists belonging to Fitna Al Hindustan were successfully neutralized.”
Pakistan’s military uses the terms “Fitna Al-Khwarij” for the TTP and “Fitna Al Hindustan” for separatist militants in Balochistan. Islamabad alleges these militant groups are supported by India, a charge New Delhi has always denied.
The ISPR said security forces retrieved weapons and ammunition from the militants in Balochistan’s Zhob district, adding that they were involved in “terrorist activities” in the area.
“The security forces of Pakistan remain resolute and unwavering in their commitment to defend the nation’s frontiers,” the ISPR said.
Four police personnel killed
Separately, four police personnel were killed in KP’s district Bajaur on Wednesday after they were ambushed by unidentified gunmen.
The police personnel were on patrol duty when the gunmen opened fire on them, a statement from the chief minister’s office said.
“Such cowardly acts of terrorism cannot shake the resolve and morale of the police force,” Chief Minister Sohail Afridi was quoted as saying.
The counterterror operations take place amid surging tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Islamabad said it carried out strikes on alleged militant camps in Afghanistan on Saturday night, killing over 100 militants.
Afghanistan said the attacks violated its territorial sovereignty, accusing Islamabad of killing and wounding dozens of civilians.
Islamabad alleges militants based in Afghanistan are responsible for surging militant attacks inside Pakistani territory. Afghanistan rejects these allegations and urges Pakistan to focus on its security challenges instead of blaming Kabul.
