Mike Pompeo starts Middle East tour aimed at increasing pressure on Iran
- Secretary of state said he would meet US allies and try to get them to agree on what they view as the ‘enormous risk’ Iran poses for the region
The Trump administration is increasing commercial and diplomatic efforts in the coming weeks to “put real pressure on Iran”, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said at the start of a Middle East tour on Tuesday.
Pompeo is meeting US allies in the region, including stops in Jordan, Egypt and several Gulf nations, to coordinate the ongoing anti-Iran campaign.
The trip comes amid confusion over conflicting statements by President Donald Trump and senior US officials about a planned US troop withdrawal from Syria.
Trump made the surprise announcement about a withdrawal last month, saying some 2,000 troops fighting alongside Kurdish militants in northeastern Syria against Islamic State extremists would be pulled out soon. He did not give details, leaving US partners in the region jockeying for influence over terms of a withdrawal.
Pompeo contended Tuesday that the planned withdrawal from Syria would not complicate the administration’s anti-Iran campaign. He said US allies in the region, including Jordan, agree on what they view as the “enormous risk” Iran poses for the region.