US warns Iran to back off in Persian Gulf

A second US aircraft carrier strike group now steaming toward the Middle East is Washington's way of warning Iran to back down in its attempts to dominate the region, a top US diplomat said Tuesday.

Nicholas Burns, the US undersecretary of state for political affairs, ruled out direct US negotiations with

Iran and said a rapprochement between Washington and Tehran was "Not possible" Until Iran halts its enrichment of uranium. (AP)