EU/IRAN/MIKE POMPEO/NUCLEAR/SANCTIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke to German, French and British counterparts in recent days to discuss cooperation over Iran, a State Department spokeswoman said on Monday 5-14-18] a week after U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal…The White House on Sunday [5-13-18] threatened to impose sanctions on European companies that do business with Iran after Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 accord negotiated by the Obama administration. Pompeo was in Pyongyang on Tuesday [5-8-18] when Trump made the announcement and senior State Department officials said the secretary will try to persuade allies in Europe, the Middle East and Asia to pressure Tehran to return to talks. White House national security adviser John Bolton said on Sunday U.S. sanctions on European companies that maintain business dealings with Iran were ‘possible’ although Pompeo has remained hopeful Washington and its allies could strike a new nuclear deal with Tehran…In a statement, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said after talks with his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian, that both countries were determined ‘to conserve the essence of the Iran nuclear deal.'”
-Reuters Staff, “Pompeo reaches out to European counterparts amid Iran tensions,” Reuters, May 14, 2018 11:00 am