The Kremlin Wednesday expressed concern that tensions over Iran keep escalating despite claims by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during a visit to Russia that Washington was not seeking war.
“So far we notice the continued escalation of tensions around this subject,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, a day after Pompeo met with President Vladimir Putin.
“We are saddened to see the decisions taken by the Iranian side,” Peskov said, while arguing that Washington has been provoking Iran.
Speaking in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi on Tuesday, Pompeo claimed that his country “did not want war with Iran,” despite a spike in tensions that has seen the Pentagon dispatch nuclear-capable bombers to the region.
Peskov sought to play down Pompeo’s statements.
“There were no assurances from Pompeo,” Putin’s spokesperson told reporters.
“And one can hardly talk about some sort of assurances. There is an obvious situation which unfortunately tends to escalate further.”
Washington last year pulled out of a nuclear deal signed by Europe, Russia and China.
Since then it has slapped sweeping sanctions on Iran in an all-out effort to reduce Tehran’s regional clout.
Source: AFP
