Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Saturday a US decision to deploy 1,500 additional troops to the Middle East is a “threat to international peace,” state media reported. “Increased US presence in our region is very dangerous and a threat to international peace and security and must be confronted,” Zarif told the official IRNA news agency before heading home from a visit to Pakistan. “Americans make such claims to justify their hostile policies and to create tension in the Persian Gulf,” Zarif said. The European powers denounced Iran’s threat to resume nuclear work but urged the US not to further escalate tensions with a military build-up. Tehran has refused to hold talks with Washington “under any circumstances” if the rights of the Islamic republic are not respected.

Source: The Guardian May 25, 2019 08:37 UTC