UK minister headed for crisis de-escalation talks in Iran

A minister from the United Kingdom's Foreign Office will travel to Iran on Sunday for talks with senior Iranian government officials amid escalating tensions in the Gulf region, the government department said on Saturday.

Minister of State for the Middle East Andrew Murrison will call for an "urgent de-escalation" of the crisis and raise British concerns "about Iran's regional conduct and its threat to cease complying with the nuclear deal to which the UK remains fully committed," a statement said.

"At this time of increased regional tensions and at a crucial period for the future of the nuclear deal, this visit is an opportunity for further open, frank and constructive engagement with the government of Iran," it added.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the United States was "cocked & loaded" to strike Iran but pulled back at the last minute because it would not have been a "proportionate" response to Tehran shooting down a pilotless American drone.

"I am in no hurry, our Military is rebuilt, new, and ready to go," Trump tweeted.

The downing of the drone - which Iran insists violated its airspace, a claim Washington denies - has seen tensions spike after a series of attacks on tankers the US has blamed on Tehran.

Iran warned the United States on Saturday that any aggression against the Islamic republic would have serious consequences for US interests across the Middle East.

"If the enemy - especially America and its allies in the region - make the military mistake of shooting the powder keg on which America's interests lie, the region will be set on fire," armed forces general staff spokesman Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi told the Tasnim news agency.

Britain and the US are at odds over the nuclear deal they both signed with Iran, after Trump pulled out from the landmark 2015 deal last year and reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran.