US lobbies Gulf allies to exert pressure on Iran

WASHINGTON - US officials have toured countries in the Gulf region in a campaign for coordinated moves against Iran, the US State Department said on Tuesday.

A delegation of senior US State Department officials had made a three-day trip to Saudi Arabia, where they met with officials to "coordinate stronger pressure on Iran", including new ways to end Teheran's revenues to "terrorize" other countries, according to the transcript of a senior official's briefing to reporters released on Tuesday.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that the United States and Saudi officials also discussed how to avoid oil market volatility considering pending US sanctions on Iran.

The official revealed that the US delegation visited Bahrain on Tuesday, where they continued to lobby for a "powerful deterrent" against Iran.

Also on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The US side said the crown prince reiterated his support for the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal in May.

Meanwhile, the US ambassador to Germany urged Berlin on Tuesday to stop Iran withdrawing large sums of cash from bank accounts in Germany to offset the effect of new US sanctions.

Richard Grenell, a longtime critic of the accord, told the mass-circulation daily Bild that Washington was extremely concerned about Teheran's plans to transfer hundreds of millions of euros in cash to Iran.

The US announced earlier in July that some of the sanctions, which had been lifted under the nuclear deal, including targeting Iran's oil exports, will snap back in early November. The move could be a big blow to the country, whose revenues largely depend on oil exports, and is likely to seriously shake the international oil market.

Xinhua - AP

(China Daily 07/12/2018 page12)