Pompeo would "happily" visit Tehran to speak to Iranian people

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday said he would like an opportunity to go to Tehran to speak to the Iranian people directly, amid heightened tensions between Washington and the Middle Eastern country.

"I would welcome the chance to speak directly to the Iranian people," Pompeo said in an interview to Bloomberg TV. "I'd like a chance to go, not do propaganda, but speak the truth to the Iranian people about what it is their leadership has done and how it has harmed Iran."

Pompeo made the comments as Washington is in the midst of escalating tensions with Tehran over oil transports in the Strait of Hormuz and the downing of a US drone by Iran.

The secretary of state also defended recent new sanctions on Iran, part of Washington's "maximum pressure" campaign meant to change Tehran's foreign policy through economic coercion.

"We're trying to apply sufficient pressure to show the Iranian leadership that the cost just isn't worth it, to convince them that if they simply behave like a normal nation that the Iranian people can live normal lives," Pompeo said.

The US pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran last year and has imposed a raft of sanctions. 

Last month Iran announced that it is enriching uranium and increasing its stockpile of low-enriched uranium beyond the level agreed with global powers in 2015. (dpa)