A minister from Britain's Foreign Office will travel to Iran on Sunday for talks with senior Iranian government officials amid escalating tensions between Tehran and Washington in the Gulf region, the department said 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 department 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 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 an American drone.
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.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday that the international community must seek a political solution on Iran
Speaking at an annual gathering of Protestant churches, Merkel also said the Iran issue would be discussed at next week's meeting of leaders of the Group of 20 leading economies in Japan, at least at a bilateral level.
"There has to be a political solution (on Iran) and that is what we are working on," Merkel said.
European signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and the US are at odds over the agreement, with Trump pulling out last year.
The UK, Germany and France share some US concerns about Iran but still back the deal.
