U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Saudi Arabia on Saturday on his first visit to the Middle East, as the United States aims to muster support for new sanctions against Iran.
The visit to Riyadh, Jerusalem and Amman just two days after Pompeo was sworn in comes as President Donald Trump is set to decide whether to pull out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran that is still supported by European powers.
On January 12, Trump challenged Britain, France and Germany to fix what he has repeatedly called the "disastrous flaws" in the nuclear deal, or he will pull America out of the accord. His decision is expected on May 12.
Pompeo was scheduled to arrive in Israel on Sunday and meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The two were expected to discuss the Iranian threat and Trump's pending decision on the nuclear agreement, Iran's efforts to entrench itself militarily in war-torn Syria, the impending relocation of the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, currently set for May 14, and the Palestinian response to this move.
"Today we welcome U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, a true friend of Israel," Netanyahu said. "
I think that it is important that he is coming to Israel as part as his first overseas visit as secretary of state. I will discuss with him regional developments, Iran's growing aggression and of course the nuclear agreement with Iran, on which there will be a decision soon," the prime minister said at the begining of the weekly cabinet meeting.
While former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was widely seen as a voice for moderation in the Trump administration, Pompeo, a former CIA chief, army officer and conservative congressman, is a hawk who, together with new White House National Security Adviser John Bolton, could back Trump's aggressive posturing on the world stage.
Pompeo set off on his first diplomatic trip within two hours of being sworn in on Thursday, arriving in Brussels for a meeting with NATO allies.
Speaking after the meeting, Pompeo said Trump had not made a decision on whether to abandon the nuclear deal but was not likely to stick to it without substantial changes.
"There's been no decision, so the team is working and I am sure we will have lots of conversations to deliver what the president has made clear. … Absent a substantial fix, absent overcoming the shortcomings, the flaws of the deal, he [Trump] is unlikely to stay in that deal past this May," he said.
Brian Hook, a senior policy adviser traveling with Pompeo, said that Iran's missile program would be one of the focuses of talks with Israel and the Saudis.
"We are urging nations around the world to sanction any individuals and entities associated with Iran's missile program, and it has also been a big part of discussions with Europeans," Hook told reporters in Riyadh Saturday.
"Iran's missiles prolong war and suffering in the Middle East, they threaten our security and economic interests and they especially threaten Saudi Arabia and Israel," he said.
Both French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have been lobbying Trump not to exit the nuclear deal.
Macron, who met with Trump last week, warned that while the deal can be improved, there was no "plan B" in place. Merkel admitted that the existing international accord on Iran fell short of curbing the Islamic republic's nuclear aspirations, but stressed it was a "first step" that prevented Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.
On Friday, Trump surprised reporters at the White House by saying he might travel to Israel next month for the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.
The White House said last month that Trump would not attend the dedication ceremony over preparations for his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
No date has been set for the meeting at this time, by Trump said Saturday it could happen "over the next three or four weeks."
Standing next to Merkel at a White House press conference Friday, Trump, responding to a question from the Christian Broadcasting Network over who would attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony in Jerusalem, said, "I may go. I'm very proud of it."
He added that the new embassy "is going to be beautiful. And it will be somewhat temporary, but it could be for many years." The president was referring to the fact that a permanent location for the new embassy within the Israeli capital has yet to be selected.
"The embassy in Jerusalem has been promised for many, many years by presidents. They all made campaign promises and they never had the courage to carry it out. I carried it out," he stressed.
