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BELLINZONA, Switzerland (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday that the Trump administration is ready for unconditional discussions with Iran in an effort to ease rising tensions that have sparked fears of conflict. But the United States will not relent in trying to pressure the Islamic Republic to change its behavior in the Middle East, America’s top diplomat said.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is visiting the Netherlands for talks with his Dutch counterpart that are expected to touch on rising tensions between Washington and Tehran as well as the crisis in Venezuela and NATO funding.

Pompeo’s brief stop in The Hague on Monday is the third leg of a four-nation tour of Europe in which he is both trying to calm nerves over rising U.S.-Iran tensions and stressing that America will defend itself and not relent in raising pressure on the Islamic Republic with economic sanctions.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is making up facts about a veterans’ health care program in his latest dig at late Sen. John McCain.

He says he’s no fan of McCain, a Vietnam War veteran and tortured prisoner of war, faulting him for failing to pass a program that gave veterans the option to see a private doctor at public expense.

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares wobbled Monday after U.S. and Chinese officials traded jibes in their widening clash over trade and technology.

China’s Shanghai Composite lost 0.3% to 2,890.08 after surveys showed a deteriorating manufacturing outlook in May. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index lost 0.9% to 20,410.88, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.1% to 26,871.23. The S&P ASX 200 dropped 1.2% to 6,320.50.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican officials have copied a page from President Donald Trump’s playbook in recent days, taking to Twitter to communicate that they are working flat-out to de-escalate tensions over immigration and avoid punitive tariffs on all Mexican exports to the U.S.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Top officials from the U.S. and Mexico will begin talks Monday in a scramble to fend off President Donald Trump’s threat of devastating tariffs on imports from the southern ally and meet his demand for fewer migrants at the border.

Trump is heading to London for a long-planned overseas trip, leaving others to stem a potential trade crisis. It’s unclear what more Mexico can do — and what will be enough — to satisfy the president. Trump’s Republican allies warn that tariffs on Mexican imports will hit U.S. consumers and harm the economy.

2 June 2019; DW: President Hassan Rouhani has suggested that Iran is not opposed to negotiations with Washington, but will not be pressured into them. Tensions have escalated significantly over the past several weeks.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday suggested that Tehran would be open to negotiations with the United States if Washington showed respect and abided by international rules. But he said Tehran would not allow Washington to force it to the table.

2 June 2019; DW: Chinese Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe said Sunday that his country would not renounce the use of force over the reunification of Taiwan with the Chinese mainland.

"We will strive for the process of peaceful reunification with utmost sincerity and greatest efforts but we make no promise to renounce the use of force," Wei said.

2 June 2019; DW: The Chinese government on Sunday issued a white paper claiming the trade dispute between Washington and Beijing was hurting the US economy.

"The (US) tariff measures have not boosted American economic growth. Instead, they have done serious harm to the US economy," the Chinese report said, pointing to what it described as a rise in production costs and consumer prices in the US.

2 June 2019; DW: A day after he backed Boris Johnson as the next British prime minister, US President Donald Trump said the UK should send Nigel Farage to Brussels to conduct Brexit talks with the EU.

In an interview with the UK's Sunday Times newspaper, Trump said: "I like Nigel a lot. He has a lot to offer — he is a very smart person."  

"They won't bring him in but think how well they would do if they did. They just haven't figured that out yet," Trump added.