Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Pompeo Starts Middle East Visit to Ramp Up Pressure on Iran
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
January 8, 2019

Share

AMMAN, Jordan — The Trump administration is doubling down on commercial and diplomatic efforts in the coming weeks to “put real pressure on Iran,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said at the start of a Mideast tour Tuesday.

“You will see in the coming days and weeks that we are doubling not only our diplomatic but our commercial efforts to put real pressure on Iran to achieve what it is we set out for them back in May.” — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
Pompeo is meeting with U.S. allies in the region, including stops in Jordan, Egypt and several Gulf nations, to coordinate an anti-Iran campaign.
The trip comes amid confusion over conflicting statements by President Donald Trump and senior U.S. officials about a planned U.S. troop withdrawal from Syria. Trump made the surprise announcement about a withdrawal last month, saying some 2,000 troops fighting alongside Syrian Kurdish allies in northeastern Syria against Islamic State extremists would be pulled out soon. He did not give details, such as a timetable, leaving bewildered U.S. 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 U.S. allies in the region, including Jordan, agree on what they view as the “enormous risk” Iran poses for the region.
“The president’s decision to withdraw our folks from Syria in no way impacts our capacity to deliver on that,” he said in a joint news conference with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi. “You will see in the coming days and weeks that we are doubling not only our diplomatic but our commercial efforts to put real pressure on Iran to achieve what it is we set out for them back in May.”

Consultations About the Fate of Kurds Allied With the U.S. In Syria

Pompeo’s visit began as U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton was set to depart Turkey without meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — an apparent snub over disagreements about the Kurdish fighters in Syria.

“He is going to give a set of remarks. First time he’s spoken from the Oval Office in two years. It’s gonna be about the border, mostly, our southern border. I saw an early version of it. He will make a lot of news.” — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
U.S. officials had said the two were expected to have consultations on Tuesday about the fate of Kurds allied with the U.S. in Syria as part of discussions about Trump’s troop draw-down.
National Security Council spokesman Garrett Marquis said U.S. officials were told Erdogan cited local election season and a speech to parliament for not meeting with Bolton.
The Trump administration in November restored U.S. sanctions on Iran that had been lifted under the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with Western powers. The sanctions cover Iran’s shipping, financial and energy sectors. They are the second batch the administration has re-imposed since Trump withdrew from the accord in May.
Later on Tuesday, Pompeo met with Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the royal palace in the capital of Amman.
During a brief photo opportunity, Pompeo was chatting with the monarch, mentioning a speech by President Trump, to be delivered from the Oval Office later Tuesday.
“He is going to give a set of remarks,” Pompeo said of the president. “First time he’s spoken from the Oval Office in two years. It’s gonna be about the border, mostly, our southern border. I saw an early version of it. He will make a lot of news.”

DON'T MISS

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

DON'T MISS

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

DON'T MISS

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

DON'T MISS

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

DON'T MISS

MLB Will Test Robot Umpires at 13 Spring Training Ballparks Hosting 19 Teams

DON'T MISS

Death Toll in Gaza From Israel-Hamas War Passes 44,000, Palestinian Officials Say

DON'T MISS

Jussie Smollett’s Conviction in 2019 Attack on Himself Is Overturned

DON'T MISS

Fresno Council Lowers Speed Limits on Friant and Audubon

DON'T MISS

How About an Honest Conversation About the Range of Light Monument Proposal?

DON'T MISS

UConn Coach Geno Auriemma Breaks NCAA Wins Record With 1,217th Victory

UP NEXT

What Will Happen to CNBC and MSNBC When They No Longer Have a Corporate Connection to NBC News?

UP NEXT

Pope to Make Late Italian Teenager Carlo Acutis the First Millennial Saint on April 27

UP NEXT

US Vetoes UN Ceasefire Resolution in Gaza Conflict

UP NEXT

Bomb Cyclone Kills 1 and Knocks Out Power to Over Half a Million Homes Across the Northwest US

UP NEXT

Israeli Officials Demand the Right to Strike Hezbollah Under Any Cease-Fire Deal for Lebanon

UP NEXT

Spain Will Legalize Hundreds of Thousands of Undocumented Migrants in the Next 3 Years

UP NEXT

TSMC Walks a Geopolitical Tightrope

UP NEXT

Volunteers Came Back to Nonprofits in 2023, After the Pandemic Tanked Participation

UP NEXT

New Study: Proposed Trump Tariffs Could Cost US Consumers $78 Billion a Year

UP NEXT

Iran Defies International Pressure, Increasing Its Stockpile of Near Weapons-Grade Uranium, UN Says

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

1 hour ago

MLB Will Test Robot Umpires at 13 Spring Training Ballparks Hosting 19 Teams

1 hour ago

Death Toll in Gaza From Israel-Hamas War Passes 44,000, Palestinian Officials Say

2 hours ago

Jussie Smollett’s Conviction in 2019 Attack on Himself Is Overturned

2 hours ago

Fresno Council Lowers Speed Limits on Friant and Audubon

2 hours ago

How About an Honest Conversation About the Range of Light Monument Proposal?

3 hours ago

UConn Coach Geno Auriemma Breaks NCAA Wins Record With 1,217th Victory

4 hours ago

Fresno Doctors Will Pay $2.4 Million to Settle Kickback Allegations, DOJ Says

4 hours ago

Warriors Guard De’Anthony Melton to Undergo Season-Ending Knee Surgery

4 hours ago

Massive Ground Beef Recall Affects Restaurants Nationwide, USDA Warns

4 hours ago

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

NEW YORK — Shohei Ohtani won his third Most Valuable Player Award and first in the National League, and Aaron Judge earned his second Americ...

12 minutes ago

12 minutes ago

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally at First Horizon Coliseum, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Greensboro, NC. (AP/Alex Brandon)
34 minutes ago

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

57 minutes ago

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

1 hour ago

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

1 hour ago

MLB Will Test Robot Umpires at 13 Spring Training Ballparks Hosting 19 Teams

2 hours ago

Death Toll in Gaza From Israel-Hamas War Passes 44,000, Palestinian Officials Say

2 hours ago

Jussie Smollett’s Conviction in 2019 Attack on Himself Is Overturned

Fresno motorcycle cop enforces the 45 mph speed limit
2 hours ago

Fresno Council Lowers Speed Limits on Friant and Audubon

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend