US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday accused Iran of directing Yemen's Houthi rebels to renege on commitments they made in Stockholm last December and continue fighting.
The Houthis "continue to refuse to comply with the agreements that they signed up for in Stockholm, Sweden, they refuse to withdraw from the port of Hodeidah ... this is because Iran has chosen to direct them to do that", Mr Pompeo said at an event in Washington hosted by The Hill newspaper.
He said Iran's guidelines to the Houthis were also seen “with the missile system, the hardware, the military capability” that they had acquired.
“These are not Houthi indigenous weapons systems. They have been smuggled into Yemen from Iran,” Mr Pompeo said.
He defended Washington’s roles in Yemen, fighting Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula supporting Saudi Arabia in countering the missile threat from the Houthis.
"The Saudis have had missiles fly that could have hit you [US citizens] at King Khalid airport," Mr Pompeo said.
"The support we are providing to the Saudis is in America’s best interest."
He said the people happiest to hear asked about the recent Congress resolution to end America’s role in Yemen, which was vetoed by President Donald Trump, were Iran's Qassem Suleimani, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Mr Pompeo also defended the decision to end sanctions waivers granted to eight countries that import oil from Iran.
“We are convinced we can make sure the markets are adequately supplied,” he said.
Russia, Turkey and China have indicated that they might work around the sanctions after the waivers end on Wednesday.
“Sovereign nations make their own choices, individual businesses do their own choices," Mr Pompeo said. "What we can do is prepare a sanctions machine that makes it incredibly costly” for those breaching them.
He said that the Trump administration was not seeking regime change in Tehran.
“We are hoping that the regime makes a set of decisions that are very different from the ones that they are making today,” Mr Pompeo said.
He repeated his 12 demands to Tehran, including an end to its support for terrorism and proxy groups.
“We are simply asking Iran to behave like a normal country," Mr Pompeo said. "Simple things such as don’t kill people in Europe, you shouldn’t support Shia militias in Iraq trying to destabilise the Iraqi government, and not to continue to sow strife in Lebanon by underwriting Hezbollah.
“If Iran and its leaders can find a way to do that, we are happy to engage them and bring them to the community of nations.”
He said the US investigation into the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was continuing.
The US is "determined to hold every person we think is materially responsible accountable”, Mr Pompeo said.
MATCH INFO
Cricket World Cup League Two
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Namibia beat Oman by 52 runs
UAE beat Namibia by eight wickets
UAE v Oman - abandoned
Oman v Namibia - abandoned
Day 5, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day When Dilruwan Perera dismissed Yasir Shah to end Pakistan’s limp resistance, the Sri Lankans charged around the field with the fevered delirium of a side not used to winning. Trouble was, they had not. The delivery was deemed a no ball. Sri Lanka had a nervy wait, but it was merely a stay of execution for the beleaguered hosts.
Stat of the day – 5 Pakistan have lost all 10 wickets on the fifth day of a Test five times since the start of 2016. It is an alarming departure for a side who had apparently erased regular collapses from their resume. “The only thing I can say, it’s not a mitigating excuse at all, but that’s a young batting line up, obviously trying to find their way,” said Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach.
The verdict Test matches in the UAE are known for speeding up on the last two days, but this was extreme. The first two innings of this Test took 11 sessions to complete. The remaining two were done in less than four. The nature of Pakistan’s capitulation at the end showed just how difficult the transition is going to be in the post Misbah-ul-Haq era.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Bundesliga fixtures
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP
Group A
Paraguay
Japan
Switzerland
USA
Group B
Uruguay
Mexico
Italy
Tahiti
Group C
Belarus
UAE
Senegal
Russia
Group D
Brazil
Oman
Portugal
Nigeria
Directed by Sam Mendes
Starring Dean-Charles Chapman, George MacKay, Daniel Mays
4.5/5
Simran
Director Hansal Mehta
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Soham Shah, Esha Tiwari Pandey
Three stars
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
AUSTRALIA SQUADS
ODI squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Twenty20 squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch automatic
Power: 169bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh54,500
On sale: now
