LONDON (AP) — Gone, at least for now, are the halcyon days when strong military and political ties between Britain and the United States meant that Washington could assume it had a staunch partner for standing up to a foreign foe.

Dating back to World War II and including joint actions against Kosovo, Afghanistan and the two wars against Iraq, U.S. leaders have been able to count on Britain to take part in invasions and airstrikes, and to help persuade sometimes cautious European allies to offer political and logistical support.

The Trump administration was expecting similar support over what it calls an increased threat from Iran, but this hope has been swatted down — not with anonymous whispers but by public comments from top British officials.

In an unusually blunt challenge from Britain, Maj. Gen. Chris Ghika denied the U.S. assertion of an increased threat from Iranian-backed forces in Iraq and Syria. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt also warned that the heated rhetoric could lead to an "accidental" war between the U.S. and Iran.

Those remarks brought Britain closely into line with other European nations that want a focus on diplomacy, not escalation. Europe wants to salvage a nuclear containment deal with Iran, not ratchet up tensions.

The very public display of disunity comes as President Donald Trump prepares to travel to Britain and France next month to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, often cited as a shining example of the value of trans-Atlantic cooperation.

Peter Beyer, the German government's coordinator for trans-Atlantic relations, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Germany is working closely with its European allies to "calm the situation in the Persian Gulf" before it gets out of hand.

"Our goal remains to keep the Iran nuclear deal in place," he said, referring to the deal that world powers reached with Iran in 2015 to constrain its nuclear development. Trump has abandoned the deal, frustrating Britain, France and Germany, whose leaders believe it offers the best way to prevent nuclear proliferation in the unstable Middle East.

Beyer said Germany's foreign minister met privately in Brussels with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday and "outlined very clearly that we do not want any type of military escalation."

In a newspaper interview to be published Thursday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany, France and Britain are taking "a different approach" from the U.S. on Iran, adding that in this instance the three countries "have common interests" with Russia and China.

Britain's ability to influence Trump on its own seems particularly weak at the moment because the government is in disarray over its stalled Brexit divorce plan from the EU, and Prime Minister Theresa May has said she will step down once the withdrawal becomes a reality.

Some European diplomats say privately that Pompeo was unconvincing when he met separately with several European foreign ministers and that there is little comprehension of what U.S. officials hope to achieve by putting maximum pressure on Iran at a time when its economy is already suffering under sanctions.

The meetings with Pompeo seemed to be thrown together at the last minute rather than a carefully choreographed diplomatic encounter.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told lawmakers that putting intense pressure on Iran adds to the risk of an unintended escalation.

"What has happened in recent days — acts of sabotage against ships or pipelines — are indications that these dangers (of escalation) are concrete and real," he said.

For now, the EU refuses to be drawn into the war of words. Under the nuclear agreement, which is backed by a U.N. Security Council resolution, the International Atomic Energy Agency reports every few months on whether Iran is in compliance with the terms of the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

A new report is due at the end of May, and the Europeans are waiting to see what its conclusions will be, rather than endorsing the U.S. position.

In the meantime, Europeans have been trying to keep supply lines open to Iran. They have set up a complicated barter-type system to skirt direct financial transactions with Tehran to try to evade possible U.S. sanctions.

The plan, run jointly by Britain, France and Germany, is not yet operational, but the fact that the three influential nations banded together to come up with a way to frustrate U.S. sanctions is one more sign that the alliances that helped rebuild western Europe after World War II are being tested as never before.

Rising reported from Berlin. Associated Press writers Geir Moulson in Berlin and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed. </s> Britain, France and Germany made a joint plea to Donald Trump on Thursday to endorse a key nuclear deal with Iran as the US president mulls reimposing sanctions on Tehran.

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"The deal is working, it is delivering on its main goal, which means keeping the Iranian nuclear programme in check," said EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, stressing the importance of preserving an agreement that is "making the world safer and... preventing a potential nuclear arms race in the region".

Mogherini’s comments followed a meeting between her British, French and German counterparts with Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Brussels Thursday.

In sharp contrast to Trump's view that the 2015 pact was "the worst deal ever negotiated", the foreign ministers of the three countries and the EU's top diplomat said there was no alternative to the accord and that sanctions should remain lifted.

Trump is expected to decide on Friday whether or not to reimpose sanctions against Tehran that were suspended under the deal. In October, Trump refused to certify Iran was complying with the accord, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said there was "no indication" Tehran was not keeping its side of the bargain.

"It is important now that all parties respect this joint commitment and that our American allies respect it as well," said Le Drian.

Reporting from Brussels, FRANCE 24’s Meabh McMahon noted that Mogherini was doing “everything she can to try to preserve the deal” and the display of European unity was critical. “This is one of the main diplomatic success stories of the European Union in the last couple of years. It’s a chance for the EU to show how it can solve problems globally by using its soft power,” McMahon added.

EU has to show its ‘backbone’

In a Twitter post, Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif said the meeting had shown a "strong consensus" that Iran was complying with the pact.

"E3 (Germany, France and Britain) and EU fully aware that Iran's continued compliance [is] conditioned on full compliance by the US," Zarif added.

Strong consensus in Brussels today: 1)Iran is complying with #JCPOA, 2)Iranian people have every right to all its dividends, 3)any move that undermines JCPOA is unacceptable. E3 and EU fully aware that Iran’s continued compliance conditioned on full compliance by the US. pic.twitter.com/vpib5DQT18 Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 11, 2018

While the joint European position was welcomed by the Iranian government, Mohammad Marandi, a political analyst at the University of Tehran, noted that if the EU did not transform rhetoric into action, the 2015 deal was in peril.

“The only thing now is for the European countries to show they have a backbone to stand up and show that they can protect their citizens and their businesses,” said Marandi in an interview with FRANCE 24 from Tehran. “If Iran sees that implementation in action, then there is hope for the deal. If not, if it’s just empty rhetoric and the Europeans are not willing to stand up to Trump, then the Iranians will withdraw from the deal.”

Under the accord, Iran slowed its nuclear program in exchange for an easing of international economic sanctions.

Officials from major world powers and Iran meet roughly every three to four months to assess implementation of the deal, which is monitored by the world's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

US officials and others familiar with the administration's deliberations have indicated that Trump is likely to back the accord for now but that he may pair his decision with new, targeted sanctions on Iranian businesses and people.

US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told reporters on Thursday that he believed Trump would impose new sanctions on Iran.

"I am expecting new sanctions on Iran," Mnuchin told reporters in Washington DC. "We continue to look at them. We've rolled them out and I think you can expect there will be more sanctions coming."

Regional conflicts

One of the criticisms levelled at the nuclear deal is that it does nothing to address Iran's continuing ballistic missile programme and meddling in Middle East conflicts such as Yemen and Syria.

The Europeans say these issues should be kept separate from discussion of the nuclear deal, but in a nod to US concerns, Mogherini stressed they were raised with Zarif at Thursday's talks.

She said they had also brought up "internal recent events" in a reference to anti-government protests in Iran that left more than 20 people dead.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson added that it was important for building global support for the nuclear deal that "Iran should be able to show that it is a good neighbour in the region" and show what it can do to help solve the Yemen crisis.

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel even indicated that Iran had agreed to open talks about regional issues, starting with Yemen.

US Congress is working on a way to punish Iran for the ballistic missile programme and its interference in Middle East conflicts such as Yemen and Syria.

The 28-member EU has condemned the "unacceptable loss of human lives" in the protests and stressed that peaceful protest and freedom of expression are "fundamental rights".

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, REUTERS and AP) </s> LONDON – Britain, France and Germany have agreed that the nuclear deal that US President Donald Trump has threatened to scrap remains the best way of stopping Tehran getting nuclear weapons, British Prime Minister Theresa May’s office said on Sunday.

May had phone calls with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel where they agreed the deal may need to be broadened to cover areas such as ballistic missiles, what happens when the deal expires, and what they consider Iran’s destabilizing regional activity, a statement said.

“They committed to continue working closely together and with the US on how to tackle the range of challenges that Iran poses – including those issues that a new deal might cover,” the statement said.

This comes as a deadline looms next month for Trump to decide on whether to restore US economic sanctions on Tehran - something which could destroy the 2015 agreement which lifted some sanctions in exchange for curbs on Iran’s nuclear program.

Speaking on a whistle-stop Middle East tour on Sunday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington would abandon the nuclear deal unless talks with European partners yield improvements.

“We’ve certainly made some (progress with the Europeans),” he said. “There is still work to do. They said: ‘Great, we will support you if you get the fixes’.”

Macron later spoke with President Hassan Rouhani and agreed to work with him in coming weeks to preserve the nuclear deal, his office said in a statement.

The French president also called for discussions on Iran’s ballistic missile programs, its nuclear activities beyond 2025 and the country’s role in Middle East crises, according to his office, in a conversation that lasted more than an hour. </s> Senior diplomats from Iran and five world powers are meeting in Vienna on May 25 to try to prevent the 2015 nuclear deal from collapsing after the United States pulled out of the agreement and reinstated sanctions against Iran this month.

Iranian leaders have said they will uphold their side of the deal, which involves strict curbs on their nuclear program, if Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China uphold theirs by making sure that Iran can keep doing business with the world, despite the revived U.S. sanctions.

"It won't be easy, but we'll try," Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said ahead of the talks.

Iranian ministers are under orders from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to seek guarantees from the Europeans for Iranian oil sales and trade, as well as their agreement to spurn U.S. efforts to negotiate a stronger and broader deal with Tehran.

Khamenei laid out a series of conditions on May 23 that he said must be met for Iran to stay in the deal.

The European powers are expected to highlight EU efforts to legally shield European companies that have established ties with Iran from the U.S. sanctions so they can continue doing business in Iran.

Diplomats said the European Union is trying to make sure that such businesses are not affected in particular by U.S. sanctions prohibiting Iran from using the U.S. dollar or U.S. financial institutions to transact business.

Iranian officials are expected to carefully scrutinize the package of measures EU officials have cobbled together to try to counter the U.S. sanctions.

Some European officials have been openly skeptical that the measures will be effective in keeping businesses from fleeing Iran. Several major corporations, including France's Total and Germany's Allianz, already have announced they are leaving unless they receive exemptions from the U.S. sanctions.

"I think this is a moment of truth for the Europeans," EU chief diplomat Federica Mogherini said this week.

The meeting of foreign ministers is the first since U.S. President Donald Trump on May 8 abandoned the deal, formally named the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which originally provided near-universal sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on Iran's nuclear activities.

In pullng out, Trump argued that the agreement would not stop Iran from eventually developing atomic warheads, and that it did nothing to check Iran's ballistic missile program or its involvement in regional conflicts in Yemen and Syria.

European and Russian leaders say the deal has accomplished its goal of preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons while contributing to stability in the Middle East.

With reporting by dpa and Reuters </s> The leaders of the U.K., Germany and France agreed this weekend that the Iran nuclear deal is the “best way” to prevent the country from becoming armed with nuclear weapons.

British Prime Minister Theresa May spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel separately on Saturday and Sunday to discuss the Iran deal as well as U.S. tariffs, according to No. 10 Downing Street. A German government spokesman also confirmed Merkel’s conversation with May, as well as her own phone call with Macron on Saturday.

“They discussed the importance of the Iran nuclear deal … as the best way of neutralising the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran, agreeing that our priority as an international community remained preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon,” Downing Street said in a statement.

“They agreed that there were important elements that the deal does not cover, but which we need to address — including ballistic missiles, what happens when the deal expires and Iran’s destabilising regional activity.”

Downing Street said May, Merkel and Macron also pledged to “continue working closely” with the U.S. on the issue, including on “those issues that a new deal might cover.”

The statement comes after both Macron and Merkel visited U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington within the past week. Macron had hoped to convince Trump to stay in the deal, but said that after his conversations with the U.S. leader, it appeared likely Trump would withdraw from the Obama-era accord on May 12, when a decision is due on whether to extend a suspension of sanctions against Iran.

During his White House visit, Macron floated the possibility of a “new deal” that would complete the current accord by making its terms stricter in several areas. Trump signaled openness to the idea, without endorsing it explicitly. But the two leaders did not come to an agreement over whether to keep the current deal and seek additional concessions from Iran, or tear it up and start over again.

Newly appointed U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday, after a meeting with foreign ministers at NATO, that he was working to address Trump’s complaints about the Iran nuclear accord, and that Trump would quit the deal unless there was “a substantive fix.”

The European leaders also discussed the impact of recently imposed U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum, for which the EU received a temporary exemption, according to Downing Street.

The trio expressed “concern” about the tariffs, and said they would continue to push for a permanent exemption for the EU. </s> The commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has slammed the address made by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and "anyone who backs" Washington, saying that the Iranian people would deliver a "strong punch to the mouth" of the American official.

"The people of Iran should stand united in the face of this," Ismail Kowsari, the deputy commander of the Sarollah Revolutionary Guards base in Tehran added, as quoted by the Iranian Labour News Agency.

The statement comes a day after Pompeo delivered a speech dubbed "After the Deal: A New Iran Strategy," in which he promised that the US would apply unprecedented financial pressure on Tehran via "strongest in history" sanctions. While stating that Washington won't renegotiate the historic Iran nuclear deal, he also outlined 12 demands for Tehran, including the withdrawal of forces from Syria.

The Islamic Republic has slammed the address, with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani saying that the world cannot accept that Washington makes unilateral decisions for all nations.

READ MORE: Israeli PM Praises Pompeo's Iran Speech as 'Policy That Can Guarantee Security'

In its turn, the EU, which has been one of the brokers of the 2015 nuclear agreement, has also criticized the move: "Secretary Pompeo's speech has not demonstrated how walking away from the JCPOA (nuclear deal) has made or will make the region safer from the threat of nuclear proliferation or how it puts us in a better position to influence Iran's conduct in areas outside the scope of JCPOA."

The US relations with its major EU allies — namely Germany, France and Britain — members of the P5+1 group that reached the nuclear accord, have significantly deteriorated due to President Donald Trump's decision on the withdrawal from the accord, which he has long been as the "worst deal in history."

According to German media reports, the EU, Germany, France and Britain have invited Russia and China to discuss the future of the Iranian nuclear deal in Vienna, with the US representatives being sidelined from the upcoming meeting. </s> WARSAW, Poland — The Trump administration lashed out at some of America’s closest traditional allies Thursday, accusing Britain, France and Germany of trying to bust U.S. sanctions against Iran and calling on European nations to join the United States in withdrawing from the Iranian nuclear deal.

In an unusually blunt speech to a Middle East conference in Poland, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence slammed the three countries and the European Union as a whole for remaining parties to the landmark 2015 agreement after President Donald Trump withdrew from it last year and re-imposed tough sanctions on Iran.

The harsh criticism threatened to further chill U.S.-European ties that are already badly strained on many issues, including trade and defense spending. And it underscored the stark two-year trans-Atlantic divide over Iran that manifested itself again ahead of the Warsaw conference co-hosted by the U.S. and Poland.

France and Germany declined to send their top diplomats to the ministerial-level meeting. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini also stayed away due to concerns it would become an anti-Iran vehicle. Britain, France and Germany, along with the rest of the EU, continue to support the nuclear deal as the best way to prevent Iran from developing atomic weapons.

At the close of the conference, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his Polish counterpart Jacek Czaputowicz both noted differences of opinion over policies toward Iran. But, they said all participants agreed on the threat posed by the country, which is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution this week.

“There was not a defender of Iran in the room,” Pompeo said, adding that the U.S. and Europe were still capable of working together on the issue.

Czaputowicz said the U.S. and Europe “share the same diagnosis of the situation,” which is “the negative role played by Iran.” But he also noted that the U.S. and Europe differ on how to approach the matter.

In his earlier speech, Pence showed just how sharp that difference is.

He was harshly critical of Britain, France and Germany for unveiling a new financial mechanism last month that U.S. officials believe is intended to keep the nuclear deal alive by evading American sanctions.

Pence praised other nations for complying with U.S. sanctions by reducing Iranian oil imports, but he said the Europeans fell short.

“Sadly, some of our leading European partners have not been nearly as cooperative,” Pence said. “In fact, they have led the effort to create mechanisms to break up our sanctions.”

He said the mechanism, a barter-type payment system that is designed to allow businesses to skirt direct financial transactions with Iran, is “an effort to break American sanctions against Iran’s murderous regime.”

“It’s an ill-advised step that that will only strengthen Iran, weaken the EU, and create still more distance between Europe and the United States,” the vice president said.

Pence then called for Europe to abandon the nuclear agreement altogether, making explicit a demand that Trump administration officials had previously only hinted at.

“The time has come for our European partners to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and join with us as we bring the economic and diplomatic pressure necessary to give the Iranian people, the region and the world the peace security and freedom they deserve,” he said.

Niels Annen, a German deputy foreign minister who participated in the conference, told reporters after Pence spoke that Europe has a common position on the need to preserve the nuclear deal, and he dismissed U.S. concerns about the new financial mechanism. He said Germany believes both pressure and nuclear deal need to be maintained.

“We believe we need both,” he said. “We need pressure on Iran ... but we also need cooperation on the basis of this international agreement and we will continue to pursue this together.”

Germany, Britain and France have vigorously defended the new payment system as necessary to preserve the Iran accord, under which Tehran was granted billions of dollars in sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.

They are also highly unlikely to withdraw from the agreement, a signature foreign policy achievement of the Obama administration. Their governments have repeatedly expressed support for it since Trump declared the U.S. would pull out.

The U.N.’s atomic watchdog and Trump’s own intelligence chiefs have said Iran remains in compliance with the agreement despite the U.S. withdrawal.

Pence, however, said Iran’s adherence to the deal’s terms is irrelevant. He said the accord was fatally flawed to begin with as it does not prevent Iran from obtaining the technology or material to eventually develop a nuclear weapon over time.

“Compliance is not the issue; the deal is the issue,” he said, calling Iran the “single greatest threat” to security in the Middle East.

Iran was not invited to the Warsaw conference and called the event a “circus” aimed at “demonizing” the country.

Because of European reluctance to attend a conference focused only on Iran, Pompeo and other U.S. officials had sought to broaden the scope to include other Middle East topics. The schedule included sessions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Syria, Yemen, cybercrime and terrorism.

“No one country will dominate the discussion today, nor will any one issue dominate our talks,” Pompeo said at the opening of the conference,

But Pence’s comments, as well as earlier remarks by Pompeo, made clear the meeting was largely focused on isolating Iran.

Before the event opened, Pompeo met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and said, “You can’t achieve peace and stability in the Middle East without confronting Iran. It’s just not possible.”

Pence opened his keynote address by lauding the Trump administration’s commitment to fighting “radical Islamic terrorism,” a term he used in some form at least seven times.

He hailed gains made against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, where the extremists are being ousted from their last remaining areas of control. Despite Trump’s abrupt decision to withdraw American troops from Syria, Pence said the U.S. would remain in the region to ensure the militant organization does not return.

“We will continue to hunt down the remnants of ISIS wherever and whenever they rear their ugly head,” he said.

No matter what the conference yields on Syria, the future of the country was more likely to be determined at a Thursday meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the presidents of Iran and Turkey

The three leaders were in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi to discuss a Syria peace settlement as expectations mount for an imminent and final defeat of IS ahead of the U.S. pullout. </s> The Trump administration lashed out at some of America's closest traditional allies on Thursday, accusing Britain, France and Germany of trying to bust U.S. sanctions against Iran and calling on European nations to join the United States in withdrawing from the Iranian nuclear deal.

In an unusually blunt speech to a Middle East conference in Poland, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence slammed the three countries and the European Union as a whole for remaining parties to the landmark 2015 agreement after President Donald Trump withdrew from it last year and re-imposed tough sanctions on Iran.

The harsh criticism threatened to further chill U.S.-European ties that are already badly strained over numerous issues, including the Iran focus of the Warsaw conference co-hosted by the U.S. and Poland.

France and Germany had declined to send their top diplomats to the ministerial-level meeting. E.U. foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini also stayed away due to concerns it would become an anti-Iran vehicle. Britain, France and Germany, along with the rest of the E.U., continue to support the nuclear deal as the best way to prevent Iran from developing atomic weapons.

Pence was especially critical of Britain, France and Germany for unveiling a new financial mechanism last month that U.S. officials believe is intended to keep the nuclear deal alive by evading American sanctions. Pence praised other nations for complying with U.S. sanctions by reducing Iranian oil imports, but said the Europeans fell short.

"Sadly, some of our leading European partners have not been nearly as cooperative," Pence said. "In fact, they have led the effort to create mechanisms to break up our sanctions."

He said the mechanism, a barter-type payment system that is designed to allow businesses to skirt direction financial transactions with Iran, is "an effort to break American sanctions against Iran's murderous regime."

"It's an ill-advised step that that will only strengthen Iran, weaken the E.U., and create still more distance between Europe and the United States," the vice president said.

Pence then called for Europe to abandon the nuclear agreement altogether, making explicit a demand that Trump administration officials had previously only hinted at.

"The time has come for our European partners to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and join with us as we bring the economic and diplomatic pressure necessary to give the Iranian people, the region and the world the peace security and freedom they deserve," he said.

There was no immediate reaction to Pence's comments from the E.U. or any of the countries he mentioned by name.

However, Britain, France and Germany have defended the new payment system as necessary to preserve the Iran accord, under which Iran was granted billions of dollars in sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.

The European countries are also unlikely to withdraw from the agreement, a signature foreign policy achievement of the Obama administration. Their governments have repeatedly expressed support for it since Trump declared the U.S. would pull out.

The U.N.'s atomic watchdog and Trump's own intelligence chiefs have said Iran remains in compliance with the agreement despite the U.S. withdrawal.

Pence, however, said Iran's adherence to the deal's terms is irrelevant. He said the accord was fatally flawed to begin with as it does not prevent Iran from obtaining the technology or material to eventually develop a nuclear weapon over time.

"Compliance is not the issue; the deal is the issue," he said, calling Iran the "single greatest threat" to security in the Middle East.

Iran was not invited to the Warsaw conference and called the event a "circus" aimed at "demonizing" the country.

Because of European reluctance to attend a conference focused only on Iran, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other U.S. officials had sought to broaden the scope to include other Middle East topics. The schedule included sessions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Syria, Yemen, cybercrime and terrorism.

"No one country will dominate the discussion today, nor will any one issue dominate our talks", Pompeo said during the opening of the conference,

But Pence's comments, as well as earlier remarks by Pompeo, made clear the meeting was largely focused on isolating Iran.

Before the event opened, Pompeo met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and said, "You can't achieve peace and stability in the Middle East without confronting Iran. It's just not possible."

Pence opened his keynote address to the conference by lauding the Trump administration's commitment to fighting "radical Islamic terrorism," a term he used in some form at least seven times.

He hailed gains made against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, where ISIS is being ousted from its last remaining areas of control. Despite Trump's abrupt decision to withdraw American troops from Syria, Pence said the U.S. would remain present in the region to ensure the militant organization does not return.

"We will continue to hunt down the remnants of ISIS wherever and whenever they rear their ugly head," he said.

No matter what the Poland conference yields on Syria, the future of the country was more likely to be determined at a Thursday meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the presidents of Iran and Turkey

The three leaders were in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi to discuss a Syria peace settlement, as expectations mount for an imminent and final defeat of the Islamic State group ahead of the U.S. pullout. </s> LONDON — Gone, at least for now, are the halcyon days when strong military and political ties between Britain and the United States meant that Washington could assume it had a staunch partner for standing up to a foreign foe.

Dating back to World War II and including joint actions against Kosovo, Afghanistan and the two wars against Iraq, U.S. leaders have been able to count on Britain to take part in invasions and airstrikes, and to help persuade sometimes cautious European allies to offer political and logistical support.

The Trump administration was expecting similar support over what it calls an increased threat from Iran, but this hope has been swatted down — not with anonymous whispers but by public comments from top British officials.

In an unusually blunt challenge from Britain, Maj. Gen. Chris Ghika denied the U.S. assertion of an increased threat from Iranian-backed forces in Iraq and Syria. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt also warned that the heated rhetoric could lead to an "accidental" war between the U.S. and Iran.

The very public display of disunity comes as President Donald Trump prepares to travel to Britain and France next month to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, often cited as a shining example of the value of trans-Atlantic cooperation.

Peter Beyer, the German government's coordinator for trans-Atlantic relations, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Germany is working closely with its European allies to "calm the situation in the Persian Gulf" before it gets out of hand.

"Our goal remains to keep the Iran nuclear deal in place," he said, referring to the deal that world powers reached with Iran in 2015 to constrain its nuclear development. Trump has abandoned the deal, frustrating Britain, France and Germany, whose leaders believe it offers the best way to prevent nuclear proliferation in the unstable Middle East.

Beyer said Germany's foreign minister met privately in Brussels with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday and "outlined very clearly that we do not want any type of military escalation."

In a newspaper interview to be published Thursday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany, France and Britain are taking "a different approach" from the U.S. on Iran, adding that in this instance the three countries "have common interests" with Russia and China.

Britain's ability to influence Trump on its own seems particularly weak at the moment because the government is in disarray over its stalled Brexit divorce plan from the EU, and Prime Minister Theresa May has said she will step down once the withdrawal becomes a reality.

Some European diplomats say privately that Pompeo was unconvincing when he met separately with several European foreign ministers and that there is little comprehension of what U.S. officials hope to achieve by putting maximum pressure on Iran at a time when its economy is already suffering under sanctions.

For now, the EU refuses to be drawn into the war of words. Under the nuclear agreement, which is backed by a U.N. Security Council resolution, the International Atomic Energy Agency reports every few months on whether Iran is in compliance with the terms of the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

A new report is due at the end of May, and the Europeans are waiting to see what its conclusions will be, rather than endorsing the U.S. position.

In the meantime, Europeans have been trying to keep supply lines open to Iran. They have set up a complicated barter-type system to skirt direct financial transactions with Tehran to try to evade possible U.S. sanctions.

The plan, run jointly by Britain, France and Germany, is not yet operational, but the fact that the three influential nations banded together to come up with a way to frustrate U.S. sanctions is one more sign that the alliances that helped rebuild western Europe after World War II are being tested as never before.
The leaders of the United Kingdom, Germany and France agree on their support for the Iran nuclear deal as the best way to prevent Iran from having nuclear weapons.