DUBAI: US Secretary of State Mike pompeo on Sunday he defended his tour of the Arab states of the Gulf and the Trump administrationThe continuing efforts to squeeze Iran out, even as a new US administration led by Joe Biden prepares to enter the White House in January.
Although Pompeo has not responded to questions from American reporters who traveled with him for the past 10 days, he sat down with the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya broadcaster in Dubai for brief televised remarks on Sunday.
“Our policies do not change. Our duty does not change. My responsibilities do not change,” he said. “I still have an obligation, every hour, every minute, to defend the American people and keep them at the forefront of our efforts, and we will. We will do it until the last minute.”
In what was probably his last tour of the Persian Gulf as secretary of state, he touted the Trump administration. Middle East strategy that focused on Iran as “the central threat within the region” and for a maximum pressure campaign that hampered Iran’s ability to support militias in Iraq, Lebanon and Syria.
“It will be our policy until our time is up,” he said, without saying when he would stop serving as the top US diplomat.
President Donald trump He has refused to give in to Biden, despite futile efforts by the Trump campaign to block vote certification in several states.
The Trump administration is trying to increase pressure on Iran before Biden assumes the presidency. Biden has said he wants to return to rapprochement with Iran. Analysts say Biden is expected to be more willing to engage the Iranians to avoid a major escalation, although he is likely to put pressure on Tehran on its missile program and not just its nuclear program.
Trump is viewed favorably by the heavyweights of the Gulf, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for pulling the United States out of a nuclear deal with Iran and reimposing radical sanctions that have drained Iran of vital oil revenues.
Pompeo is scheduled to travel to Saudi Arabia late Sunday to meet the Crown Prince. Mohammed bin Salman before returning to Washington.
His tour also included stops in France, Turkey and Israel, including an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank and a museum honoring Christian Zionists.
Trump was recently rejected from going ahead with a military strike on Iran’s main nuclear site by advisers including Pompeo, according to a New York Times report.
When asked about this, a state department official traveling with Pompeo told reporters that “all options are on the table” and that the Trump administration “will continue to implement its policies until he is no longer in office.” .
Pompeo began his Gulf tour in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi early Saturday morning, meeting with the emirate’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Zayed, who is considered the everyday ruler and powerful figure behind the main political decisions of the country.
The state department said they discussed the progress of the UAE’s decision to normalize ties with Israel, a move that was followed by Bahrain and Sudan.
They also discussed “security cooperation and countering Iran’s evil influence in the region, as well as that of China,” the US statement said.
Pompeo “also stressed the importance of the unity of the Gulf.” The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt have largely opposed efforts by the United States to reconcile with Qatar, which they accuse of sponsoring terrorism and backing violent Islamist groups throughout the region.
The quartet cut ties with Qatar in mid-2017 and has demanded that the gas-rich Arab state shut down its flagship. Al jazeera the news network among other demands, which Qatar has flatly rejected, along with the accusations.
Pompeo left Abu Dhabi for Qatar on Saturday, although there are no direct commercial flights due to the deadlock.
He had lunch with the ruler, Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, and met with the Qatari foreign minister. The state department said Pompeo discussed regional issues and “the importance of a united Gulf to oppose the destabilizing activity of the Iranian regime and the risk to the region posed by China.”
Qatar, however, has warm ties to Iran. The two countries also share a huge subsea gas field in the Persian Gulf.
While in Qatar, Pompeo also met with representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban, where the warring parties are holding talks about the future of the country.
Despite a sharp spike in violence this year, Washington plans to withdraw approximately 2,500 soldiers by mid-January, leaving about 2,000 soldiers in Afghanistan.
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