US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis speaks while Japanese Defence Minister Tomomi Inada (not pictured) listens during a joint press conference at the defence ministry in Tokyo on February 4, 2017. / AFP / Toru YAMANAKA
Tokyo: US Defense Secretary James Mattis said Saturday that Iran was the world's biggest state sponsor of terrorism, as President Donald Trump slapped fresh sanctions on the country's weapons procurement network.
"As far as Iran goes, this is the single biggest state sponsor of terrorism in the world," Mattis said at a press conference in Tokyo, but he added that the US had no plans to increase troop numbers in the Middle East in response.