WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday warned Iran not to scuttle an upcoming agreement with the Taliban, accusing the US adversary of seeking to be a “spoiler.”

Pompeo confirmed that a one-week partial truce was holding with the Taliban, who are scheduled to sign the landmark accord with the United States in Qatar on Saturday.

“There is a history of Iran engaging in activity inside of Afghanistan to act as a spoiler,” Pompeo told the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

“We’ve seen just these last six days a significant reduction in violence in Afghanistan and we are watching closely to see if the Islamic Republic of Iran begins to take even more active measure that undermine our efforts at peace and reconciliation,” he said.

He warned that Iran could increase risks for US troops, whose numbers are expected to be sharply scaled down under the Doha agreement.—AFP