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A8 WORLD NEWS
Saturday 1 June 2019
US diplomat Pompeo comes to Europe with a tough Iran message

By MATTHEW LEE IAEA report but the ques-
DAVID RISING tion about Iranian compli-
Associated Press ance was likely to bolster
BERN, Switzerland (AP) — Pompeo’s case for a tough
U.S. Secretary of State Mike stance as he opened his
Pompeo brought the Trump European tour in Germany,
administration’s campaign which along with Britain
against Iran to Europe for and France, remains a par-
the third time this month ty to the Iran deal.
amid heightened Mideast Pompeo met Chancellor
tensions and a risk of open Angela Merkel a day after
conflict that has unnerved she delivered not-so-veiled
American allies. criticism of Trump in a com-
As the Middle East buzzed mencement speech to
with bellicose rheto- Harvard University.
ric between Iran and its Without directly naming
U.S.-backed Gulf Arab Trump, Merkel told Harvard
neighbors, Pompeo was graduates that they should
in Germany and Switzer- “tear down walls of igno-
land making the case that rance” and reject isolation-
Washington is not looking ism as they tackle global
for war and wants help in problems. She also said
cooling the situation. But he leaders should not “de-
says the U.S. will not relent German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, and U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, right, arrive to scribe lies as truth and truth
on a punishing U.S. sanc- a joint statement prior to a meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Friday, May 31, 2019. as lies.” Merkel said before
tions campaign targeting Associated Press the meeting with Pompeo
Iran. Pompeo’s Iran-related di- gression to be dealt with continued to stay within they would discuss how
Coming after President plomacy has already taken firmly and the release of the the limitations set by the to prevent Iran from get-
Donald Trump on Thursday him to Iraq, Britain, Belgium U.N. atomic watchdog’s 2015 deal but for the first ting nuclear weapons and
renewed his willingness to and Russia since early May. quarterly report on Iran’s time raised questions about “how we prevent other ag-
talk with Iran’s leadership, That’s when tensions flared compliance with the 2015 its adherence to a key pro- gressive actions by Iran.”
Pompeo’s trip has raised after U.S. allegations of in- nuclear deal. Trump with- vision intended to limit the After talks with German For-
speculation that the ad- creased threats from Iran drew the U.S. from the deal country’s use of advanced eign Minister Heiko Maas,
ministration may be looking that have now led to addi- last year and has steadily centrifuges that can enrich Pompeo said Washington
to open a channel of com- tional military deployments reinstated sanctions on uranium. The seriousness will not stand in the way
munication with the Islamic and accusations that Ira- Iran, sparking protests from of the issue was not imme- of a system Europeans are
Republic. nian proxies sabotaged Tehran, which has threat- diately clear, although a developing to shield com-
Germany sent a senior dip- oil tankers in the Gulf and ened to walk away itself senior diplomat said discus- panies dealing with Iran
lomat to Iran earlier this conducted drone attacks from the deal. sions were ongoing about from American sanctions,
week and Switzerland has in Saudi Arabia. The report from the Inter- how to resolve the matter. so long as it provides only
long represented U.S. inter- On Friday, it coincided with national Atomic Energy U.S. officials had no im- humanitarian and other
ests there. Saudi calls for Iranian ag- Agency in Vienna said Iran mediate comment on the permitted goods.q

Lyon bomb suspect had pledged allegiance to IS

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN sion yet. Last week, Heitz also helped investigators
Associated Press described video surveil- establish he had an interest
PARIS (AP) — The main sus- lance that showed a man for “jihadi thesis and IS’s ac-
pect in the bombing last heading toward the center tivities.”
week in the French city of Lyon on a bike. He was The police probe also es-
of Lyon that wounded 14 seen arriving on foot, push- tablished that the suspect
people had pledged alle- ing his bike along a pedes- had ordered online a pack
giance to the Islamic State trian-only street, then leav- of 20 batteries correspond-
group, France’s counter- ing a paper bag on a con- ing to those that served to
terrorism prosecutor said on crete block in the middle remotely trigger the de-
Friday. of the street. The suspect vice. Some traces found
Remy Heitz said in a state- immediately returned to on evidence discovered
ment the 24-year-old man his bike and left the same at the scene also matched
has admitted making the way. One minute later, the the suspect’s genetic pro-
bomb and depositing the explosion shattered the file, Heitz said.
device in front of a bakery. Soldiers of French anti terrorist plan “Vigipirate Mission”, secure glass of a refrigerator in the The suspect was arrested
He will be brought before the area, near the site of a suspected bomb attack in central bakery. The suspect initially along with his parents and
an investigating judge. Lyon, Friday May, 24, 2019. denied his involvement, brother, but they were re-
The suspect, identified only Associated Press then admitted “pledging leased on Thursday without
as Mohamed Hichem M., was Algerian. He was un- rying an explosive device in allegiance to the IS deep charges.
was arrested on Monday. known to police services relation with a terrorist un- down inside and dropping France has been hit by a
He arrived in France on a before the incident. dertaking. off the explosive device spate of attacks in recent
tourist visa in August 2017 He was handed preliminary French President Emman- he had prepared before- years, some of them dead-
but failed to leave again. charges Friday of attempt- uel Macron had called hand,” Heitz said. ly, carried out by people
Police did not give his na- ed murder, criminal terrorist the explosion an “attack” Data analysis of a com- ranging from extremist at-
tionality but some French conspiracy and manufac- but no group has claimed puter used by the suspect tackers to mentally unsta-
media reported that he turing, possessing and car- responsibility for the explo- until the end of last year ble individuals.q