Daily Times

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has accused Iran of “alarming ongoing provocations” aimed at destabilising the Middle East and undermining America’s interests in the region.

“An unchecked Iran has the potential to travel the same path as North Korea and to take the world along with it,” Tillerson said. President Donald Trump earlier ordered a review of the Iran nuclear deal.

However, the US admits that Tehran is complying with the 2015 agreement. Iran has so far made no public comments on the latest developments.

It has repeatedly denied accusations by the West that it was ever trying to develop nuclear weapons.

Earlier, Washington accused North Korea of trying to “provoke something”, after Pyongyang conducted a failed missile test over the weekend.

North Korea said it may test missiles on a weekly basis, and warned of “all-out war” if the US takes military action.

In a statement on Wednesday, Tillerson said a review, which he had announced in a letter to Congress a day earlier, would look at the whole US policy towards Iran, taking in not only Tehran’s compliance with the nuclear deal but also its actions in the Middle East.

He accused the country of “alarming and ongoing provocations that export terror and violence, destabilising more than one country at a time”.