Pompeo starts Europe trip amid US tensions with Iran, China

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has arrived in Germany as part of a four-nation European trip that was abruptly cancelled last month amid escalating tensions between the US and Iran.

According to Press TV, Pompeo, who flew to Berlin on Thursday, is scheduled to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Friday.

The United States and its German allies are locked in dispute over a host of issues, from trade to military spending.

Ahead of his trip, Pompeo said Germany needed to do more to meet NATO military spending commitments of two percent of GDP.

“President Trump is not satisfied,” Pompeo said.

Donald Trump has repeatedly complained that Germany and other NATO allies are not pulling their weight in the US-led military alliance.

“They need to come up with a plan to get there. We do need them to step up,” Pompeo said. “They’re an important, big economy inside of the EU, and we need them fully engaged and devoting adequate resources to the protection of Europe.”

Among other major issues that Pompeo is expected to discuss during the five-day trip are the escalating tensions with Iran and Washington's bans on China’s Huawei Technologies.

Before heading to Germany, Pompeo said Huawei would be an issue at each stop in Europe.

“Everywhere I go, we talk about the opportunities and challenges that China presents not only to the United States and its security but to countries around the world. So it will be a topic,” he said.

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump took the escalating trade tensions with China to a new level by adding Huawei to a list of firms with which US companies cannot engage in trade unless they get a license from authorities.

This prompted American Internet giant Google and its Android mobile operating system to suspend business with the Chinese tech giant.

Huawei filed the case in a federal US court in March.

The US diplomat also said that he was going to discuss Iran during his trip.

The Trump administration has imposed illegal sanctions on Iran and beefed up its military presence in the region, citing alleged and unspecified threats posed by the Islamic Republic to American troops and interests.

This came a year after Trump unilaterally pulled the US out of a landmark 2015 multilateral deal with Iran.

Germany, one of the signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal — officially known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) —is trying to keep it alive as Tehran still remained in compliance with the agreement.

Alongside other European Union members, Berlin has constantly voiced opposition and disapproval of Washington’s escalating tensions with Tehran.

According to a German government spokeswoman, Merkel is expected to stress to Pompeo that tensions with Iran must be resolved peacefully.

Trump has recently ratcheted up pressure on Iran by halting a waiver for countries importing crude oil from the Islamic Republic. 

Tehran has said it will not be the initiator of any war, but reserves the right to self-defense and will give a crushing response to any act of aggression.

ME