US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday that he would go to Iran for talks if it was necessary.
It comes as he contacted his newly appointed British counterpart Dominic Raab for the first time to discuss "key global priorities", including Iran.
Tension between Iran and the US has increased since last year, when President Donald Trump withdrew from the Iranian nuclear deal saying it was not strong enough.
Washington also reimposed sanctions on Tehran.
On Thursday, when asked about Iran, Mr Pompeo said: "Sure. If that's the call, I'd happily go there.
"I would welcome the chance to speak directly to the Iranian people."
The relationship between the two countries has been strained further over the past three months after attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
Mr Trump and Iranian leaders have both publicly said talks were possible, although each side had different conditions for negotiations to take place.
But on Wednesday, the top military adviser to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tehran would not negotiate with Washington under any circumstances.
Earlier this month he had described the UK's seizure of Iranian vessel the Grace 1 an act of "piracy".
The US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said on Thursday: "Secretary Michael R. Pompeo spoke with UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab today to discuss key global priorities, including countering Iran's attempts to expand its nuclear program."
She did not mention whether the conversation touched on increased tensions with Tehran over Iran's detention of a British-flagged tanker on July 19 in the Strait of Hormuz.
The seizure has been seen as a tit-for-tat move after British authorities detained an Iranian tanker off Gibraltar earlier this month on suspicion it was shipping oil to Syria in breach of EU sanctions.
Although Mr Trump has adopted a "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran this year, his administration has made clear the tanker is primarily London's issue.
New British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's approach to handling the crisis will be under close scrutiny. It is unclear whether Johnson, who took office Wednesday, will adopt the same hardline approach to Iran as Mr Trump.
In May 2018, while serving as foreign secretary under former prime minister Theresa May, Mr Johnson went to Washington to try to persuade Mr Trump not to abandon the Iran nuclear deal.
He now hopes to seal a trade deal with the US to compensate for a no-deal Brexit.
Ms Ortagus added that Mr Pompeo and Mr Raab discussed "strengthening the NATO Alliance" during their call, an organisation that President Donald Trump has previously criticised.
"We value our close ties with the United Kingdom as we work together to address the world's security challenges," Mr Pompeo tweeted.
Next week, Mr Pompeo will attend a gathering in Thailand for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as meetings with officials in Australia and Micronesia.
Brief scores
Barcelona 2
Pique 36', Alena 87'
Villarreal 0
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
Racecard
5pm: Al Maha Stables – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,600m
6pm: Emirates Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Emirates Colts Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m
7pm: The President’s Cup – Group 1 (PA) Dh2,500,000 (T) 2,200m
7.30pm: The President’s Cup – Listed (TB) Dh380,000 (T) 1,400m
What is Reform?
Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.
It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.
Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.
After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.
The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.
Tips for used car buyers
- Choose cars with GCC specifications
- Get a service history for cars less than five years old
- Don’t go cheap on the inspection
- Check for oil leaks
- Do a Google search on the standard problems for your car model
- Do your due diligence. Get a transfer of ownership done at an official RTA centre
- Check the vehicle’s condition. You don’t want to buy a car that’s a good deal but ends up costing you Dh10,000 in repairs every month
- Validate warranty and service contracts with the relevant agency and and make sure they are valid when ownership is transferred
- If you are planning to sell the car soon, buy one with a good resale value. The two most popular cars in the UAE are black or white in colour and other colours are harder to sell
Tarek Kabrit, chief executive of Seez, and Imad Hammad, chief executive and co-founder of CarSwitch.com
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
The Case For Trump
By Victor Davis Hanson
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (c), Chamani Senevirathne (vc), Subha Srinivasan, NIsha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Esha Oza, Ishani Senevirathne, Heena Hotchandani, Keveesha Kumari, Judith Cleetus, Chavi Bhatt, Namita D’Souza.
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
Fifa Club World Cup:
When: December 6-16
Where: Games to take place at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi and Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain
Defending champions: Real Madrid
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- Margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars
- Energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- Infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes
- Many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts
