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All tagged US
◢ US Defense Secretary Mark Esper urged Iran Wednesday to enter discussions with the United States in order to ease tensions in the Persian Gulf region. "We are not seeking conflict with Iran. We want to engage with them diplomatically," Esper said in his first formal press conference after being confirmed last month.
◢ The United States urged the European Union on Monday to apply sanctions targeting Iran's ballistic missile program, calling it a "grave and escalating threat." Over the weekend, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo charged that Iran tested a medium-range missile capable of carrying multiple warheads and striking parts of Europe and the entire Middle East.
◢ US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced a new high-level team to focus US and international efforts to increase diplomatic and economic pressure on Iran. The Iran Action Group will drive Washington's "maximum pressure" strategy to change Tehran's behavior, including potentially sanctioning other countries which trade with the country. The group will be headed by Brian Hook as the State Department's Special Representative for Iran.
◢ The Iranian military's behavior in the Gulf has changed "across the board" in recent months, the US Navy said on Thursday, after years of tensions in the busy waterway. Last year and in 2016, the US Navy complained repeatedly about the behaviour of Iranian Revolutionary Guard vessels, which would often shadow and steer towards US ships.
