US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday he would "happily" go to Tehran to address tensions between the two countries over US sanctions on the Gulf nation.

Pompeo explained in an interview with Bloomberg he would willingly appear on Iranian television to explain US reasoning behind the sanctions.

"I would welcome the chance to speak directly to the Iranian people… about what it is their leadership has done and how it has harmed Iran," he said.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have soared since President Donald Trump pulled the US out of a deal with Iran last year that was aimed at curbing its nuclear program, and imposed punishing sanctions.

The US has said it brought down one and possibly two Iranian drones last week, and has blamed Iran for a series of mysterious attacks on tanker ships in strategic Gulf waters.

Tehran shot down an unmanned US aircraft in June, after which Trump announced that he had called off retaliatory air strikes at the last minute because the resulting death toll would have been too high.

Iran's top diplomat renewed accusations during a visit to the United Nations last week that the US was using the sanctions to wage "economic terrorism."

Iranians are "subjected to the most brutal form of 'economic terrorism' — deliberately targeting innocent civilians to achieve illegitimate political objectives," said Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Pompeo brushed the accusations aside Thursday, saying Zarif was no more in charge of the Iranian government than "the man in the moon."

"At the end of the day, this is driven by the ayatollah," said Pompeo.

He said the US goal is to "create as much stability in the Middle East as we could."

"So we broke out of the deal, we stopped giving them money, we put pressure on the Iranian regime, and we're forcing them to make tough decisions about how they're going to behave," Pompeo said.

"We want change in behavior from the Iranian leadership so that the Iranian people can ultimately get what it is they deserve."

Pompeo, Raab discuss 'key global priorities' in call
Washington (AFP) July 25, 2019 –

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed "key global priorities," including relations with Iran, in a phone call with his newly appointed British counterpart Dominic Raab, the State Department said Thursday.

"Secretary Michael R. Pompeo spoke with UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab today to discuss key global priorities, including countering Iran's attempts to expand its nuclear program," said State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus.

She did not mention whether the conversation touched on increased tensions with Tehran over Iran's detention of a British-flagged tanker on July 19 in the Strait of Hormuz.

The seizure has been seen as a tit-for-tat move after British authorities detained an Iranian tanker off Gibraltar earlier this month on suspicion it was shipping oil to Syria in breach of EU sanctions.

Although Trump has adopted a "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran this year, his administration has made clear the tanker is primarily London's issue.

New British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's approach to handling the crisis will be under close scrutiny. It is unclear whether Johnson, who took office Wednesday, will adopt the same hardline approach to Iran as Trump.

In May 2018, while serving as foreign secretary under former prime minister Theresa May, Johnson went to Washington to try to persuade Trump not to abandon the Iran nuclear deal.

He now hopes to seal a trade deal with the US to compensate for a no-deal Brexit.

Ortagus added that Pompeo and Raab discussed "strengthening the NATO Alliance" during their call, an organization that President Donald Trump has previously criticized.

"We value our close ties with the United Kingdom as we work together to address the world's security challenges," Pompeo tweeted.

Next week, Pompeo will attend a gathering in Thailand for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as meetings with officials in Australia and Micronesia.