U.S. concerned by 'destabilising and malign activities' of Iran - Pompeo

By Lesley Wroughton and Ori Lewis

 

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo shakes hands with his Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir during a news conference, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia April 29, 2018. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser

 

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - The United States is deeply concerned by Iran's "destabilising and malign activities", new Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday.

 

The former CIA director was speaking on a flying visit to the region, where he had earlier in the day met with Saudi King Salman in Riyadh and stressed the need for unity among Gulf allies as Washington aims to muster support for new sanctions against Iran to curb its missile program.

 

The whirlwind trip to NATO in Brussels and to Middle East allies came only hours after Pompeo was confirmed as Trump's top diplomat. He has not even visited his own office yet, he told Netanyahu.

 

Speaking alongside the Israeli leader, Pompeo said in Tel Aviv: "We remain deeply concerned about Iran's dangerous escalation of threats towards Israel and the region."

 

He added: "Strong cooperation with close allies like (Israel) is critical to our efforts to counter Iran's destabilising and malign activities through the Middle East, and indeed, throughout the world."

 

Pompeo also said that the relocation of the American embassy to Jerusalem, a move set to take place on May 14, was "recognising (the) reality" of "Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the seat of its government."

 

Netanyahu, who called Pompeo a "true friend of Israel, echoed the Secretary's focus on Iran, stressing the closeness of U.S. and Israeli cooperation on the issue.

 

"I think the greatest threat to the world and to our two countries, and to all countries, is the marriage of militant Islam with nuclear weapons, and specifically the attempt of Iran to acquire nuclear weapons. We have had a very productive talk today on this subject," he said.

 

In contrast to his fierce opposition to the Obama administration's negotiations with Iran to reach a nuclear deal in 2015, which he called a "historic mistake", Netanyahu said Israel was willing to support U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to strengthen the 2015 agreement.

 

"Iran must be stopped. Its quest for nuclear bombs must be stopped. Its aggression must be stopped, and we're committed to stopping it together," he said.

 

In Saudi Arabia earlier, Pompeo said that the U.S. would abandon the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, reached under President Donald Trump's predecessor, unless talks with European partners yield improvements to ensure the Islamic Republic never possesses nuclear weapons.

 

"Iran destabilises this entire region. It supports proxy militias and terrorist groups. It is an arms dealer to the Houthi rebels in Yemen. It supports the murderous Assad regime (in Syria) as well," he said in joint remarks with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir.

 

"Gulf unity is necessary and we need to achieve it."

 

Pompeo also addressed the rift between Qatar and its neighbours, telling reporters after leaving Riyadh: "We are hopeful that they will, in their own way, figure out how to remove the dispute between them."

 

Saudi Arabia, along with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, cut off travel and trade ties with Qatar last June, accusing it of supporting terrorism and Iran.

 

Doha has denied the accusations and has said its three fellow Gulf countries aim to curtail its sovereignty. Iran denies supporting terrorism or having sought to develop nuclear weapons.

 

The United States, which has military bases in both Qatar and some of the countries lined up against it, is trying to mediate the Qatar feud. Trump publicly sided with the Saudis and Emiratis early in the crisis, but is now pushing for a resolution to maintain a united front against Iran.

 

Yemen's armed Iranian-aligned Houthi movement has fired over 100 missiles into Saudi Arabia, the latest salvo killing a man on Saturday in the southern Saudi province of Jizan.

 

The United States and the Saudi-led coalition that intervened in Yemen's civil war in 2015 accuse Iran of providing the missiles to its Houthi allies, which Tehran denies.

 

NUCLEAR DEAL

Pompeo's trip comes as Trump considers whether or not to abandon a self-imposed May 12 deadline for the Iran nuclear deal he sees as deeply flawed.

 

He has called on Gulf allies to contribute funding and troops to stabilise areas in Iraq and Syria where a U.S.-led coalition has largely defeated Islamic State jihadists.

 

Earlier this month, Jubeir said Saudi Arabia would be prepared to send troops into Syria under the U.S.-led coalition if a decision is taken to widen it.

 

Asked about Saudi troops on the ground in Syria, Pompeo said: "We will sit down and talk about... how to best make sure that this is not America alone working on this, it's the Gulf states working alongside us."

 

On Wednesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani waved aside U.S. and European talks over changes to the nuclear accord and dismissed Trump as a "tradesman" who lacked the qualifications to deal with a complex international pact.

 

"We've certainly made some (progress with the Europeans)," Pompeo said on Sunday. "There is still work to do," he said, adding that Saudi leaders told him they would support any fixes to the agreement.

 

Britain said on Sunday that it, France and Germany - the other signatories to the 2015 Iran deal along with Russia, China and the European Union - agreed that the accord was the best way to prevent Tehran from gaining nuclear weapons.

 

Macron and Rouhani spoke by telephone on Sunday and agreed to work together in the coming weeks to preserve the 2015 agreement, the Elysee said in a statement.

 

"(We) committed to continue working closely together and with the U.S. on how to tackle the range of challenges that Iran poses – including those issues that a new deal might cover," a statement from British Prime Minister Theresa May's office said.

 

The 2015 agreement limited Iran's enrichment of uranium for nuclear fuel to help ensure it could not be turned to developing bomb material, and Tehran secured a removal of most international sanctions in return.

 

Iran has repeatedly said its ballistic missile programme has nothing to do with its nuclear work and is non-negotiable.

 

(Reporting by Lesley Wroughton and Ori Lewis; Additional reporting by Sarah Dadouch in Riyadh and Andrew MacAskill in London; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Stephen Kalin)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-04-30

It's funny because according to reports Pompeo just read the Saudis the riot act over their ludicrous rift with Qatar and the humanitarian nightmare created by their campaign in Yemen.

I don't think they're concerned with the destabilization in the region at all. I think they're concerned that the wrong team is winning.

Edited April 30, 20188 yr by lannarebirth

53 minutes ago, lannarebirth said:

I don't think they're concerned with the destabilization in the region at all. I think they're concerned that the wrong team is winning.

As long as Iran is muzzled and kept at check, this is what the world should be concern about because Iran want to rule the middle east with nukes, and there is no price too high that Iran are not be willing to pay fo it...

Edited April 30, 20188 yr by ezzra

When do they understand that the times of the "World Police" are over?

47 minutes ago, ezzra said:

As long as Iran is muzzled and kept at check, this is what the world should be concern about because Iran want to rule the middle east with nukes, and there is no price too high that Iran are not be willing to pay fo it...

 

I don't know much about it. Here's what I do know. I've never met an Iranian I didn't like, who didn't have a great family and with good values. I can't say the same for the people on the side we're backing. I'd rather we were working more covertly to undermine the leadership in Iran and bolster opposition leaders rather than make them stronger by giving them an enemy to fight.

Edited April 30, 20188 yr by lannarebirth

1 hour ago, lannarebirth said:

I don't think they're concerned with the destabilization in the region at all. I think they're concerned that the wrong team is winning.

Possibly Pompeo is concerned with bringing about the rapture so he and his fellow evangelicals can float to heaven whilst the world burns and everyone dies...

4 minutes ago, mikebike said:

Possibly Pompeo is concerned with bringing about the rapture so he and his fellow evangelicals can float to heaven whilst the world burns and everyone dies...

No, that's not it. The US is happy the region is destabilized. It is what we and our proxies set out to do. It's just that they are not in a position to take advantage of the instability later because we are losing. Still, we're making nice bank on the weapons we're selling, so we got that going for us.

7 minutes ago, lannarebirth said:

No, that's not it. The US is happy the region is destabilized. It is what we and our proxies set out to do. It's just that they are not in a position to take advantage of the instability later because we are losing. Still, we're making nice bank on the weapons we're selling, so we got that going for us.

Maybe... maybe not...

 

 

2 minutes ago, mikebike said:

Maybe... maybe not...

 

 

 

Wouldn't someone looking forward to The Rapture be less concerned that Iran's ayatollahs might get nuclear weapons?

2 hours ago, lannarebirth said:

I don't think they're concerned with the destabilization in the region at all. I think they're concerned that the wrong team is winning.

I'm far more worried about the activities of USA's main ally than the USA itself.  Sooner or later Iran or Russia or maybe both will hit back hard. Last night there was a huge strike by Israel with initial reports of mass injuries and perhaps casualties.  Reporters on the ground located at the Hama National Hospital show, "civilians are donating blood for the Soldiers & Civilians who were wounded by the Israeli Israel Air Strikes tonight."

 

Quote

“The airstrikes will continue,” said Mr Makki, “a lot of people thought the strikes on the T4 base was a response to the chemical attack, but it wasn’t.”

He added: “Israel are terrified of Iran installing air defences to protect their bases.

“The Israelis will continue striking these different targets and there are between 20-25 targets to choose from so it will play out considerably.

 

 

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/952380/Syria-news-war-Iran-Israel-USA-UK-France-Donald-Trump-Danny-Makki

2 minutes ago, midas said:

I'm far more worried about the activities of USA's main ally than the USA itself.  Sooner or later Iran or Russia or maybe both will hit back hard. Last night there was a huge strike by Israel with initial reports of mass injuries and perhaps casualties.  Reporters on the ground located at the Hama National Hospital show, "civilians are donating blood for the Soldiers & Civilians who were wounded by the Israeli Israel Air Strikes tonight."

 

 

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/952380/Syria-news-war-Iran-Israel-USA-UK-France-Donald-Trump-Danny-Makki

 

As long as the ayatollahs are in power I'm not going to knock Israel for taking their shots. But it should be targeted at the leadership IMO.

1 hour ago, ezzra said:

As long as Iran is muzzled and kept at check, this is what the world should be concern about because Iran want to rule the middle east with nukes, and there is no price too high that Iran are not be willing to pay fo it...

Doesn't Israel already do that?

40 minutes ago, lannarebirth said:

 

Wouldn't someone looking forward to The Rapture be less concerned that Iran's ayatollahs might get nuclear weapons?

No. The exact opposite.

 

In simple terms:

For the rapture to unfold, evangelicals believe that ALL the worlds jewish people must "return" to Israel. This is much more likely, in their minds, IF Israel has complete dominance in the region.

6 minutes ago, mikebike said:

No. The exact opposite.

 

In simple terms:

For the rapture to unfold, evangelicals believe that ALL the worlds jewish people must "return" to Israel. This is much more likely, in their minds, IF Israel has complete dominance in the region.

How big of a region? They already have complete dominance in their region.

1 hour ago, lannarebirth said:

Wouldn't someone looking forward to The Rapture be less concerned that Iran's ayatollahs might get nuclear weapons?

The way I understood is that these religious christian nutters want Jews to rule Jerusalem which will then trigger Jesus's second coming and the rapture. 

 

Religious people should never be given power of any kind. 

4 minutes ago, oilinki said:

The way I understood is that these religious christian nutters want Jews to rule Jerusalem which will then trigger Jesus's second coming and the rapture. 

 

Religious people should never be given power of any kind. 

Agreed.

It is time that Iran realised they have no business interfering in Middle East affairs.

 

Only the USA has the right to interfere in Middle East affairs.

 

 

39 minutes ago, lannarebirth said:

How big of a region? They already have complete dominance in their region.

Simple terms - no Palestinians in Israel. So must remove all Palestinian support therefore Iran bad.

3 hours ago, jenny2017 said:

When do they understand that the times of the "World Police" are over?

 

No there not. Only those 'on duty" change. There will always be a world police. But the US is waning. And the replacements might not be so interested in democracy, freedoms and human rights. 

 

 

Well Iran probably learned all it knows by observing usa in chile, nicaragua, and el salvador.

The latter 2 are still suffering and chile while improving is still a problem child.

Their tacit support of saudi bombing the bejasus out of yemen is disgusting and they have created a humanitarian disaster that they have kept the wraps on but in many respects puts saudi on a par with assad's syria and its disgraceful disregard for human life.

 

3 hours ago, lannarebirth said:

 

Wouldn't someone looking forward to The Rapture be less concerned that Iran's ayatollahs might get nuclear weapons?

Because Iran would not ever kick off a war. The US and Israel need to kick off the war with Iran , especially as Moon in S Korea and President Xi seem to have got Kim Jong under control. What other war can Trump have now? Trump has appointed the perfect Secretary of State. IMHO any person who believes in the rapture has absolutely no place being allowed anywhere near politics and world governance. I must confess I was unaware about this and Pompeo until today, that's why I never bothered getting involved with discussions about his nomination as SoS. It is scary to discover he believes in that sh*te.

 

 

2 hours ago, lannarebirth said:

How big of a region? They already have complete dominance in their region.

Well the rapture is biblical and plenty believe in that. Do you think all the evangelicals are ignoring how big the state of Israel should be as an inconvenience. It's the Nile to the Euphrates! I said this years ago on here and was shot down. First comes Jerusalem as the Capital and then the next is Israel having the land from the Nile to the Euphrates - From "Dan to Be'er Sheva" and all points between there and the two ancient enters of world civilisation  Egypt and Mesopotamia.

 

Every days a school day! THIS is the land required to fulfil the prophecy. This is the land of Canaan promised to the Israeli's by God (apparently, allegedly, so a man burning bushes on a mountain said). Now I know some people will hate the truth getting in the way of their TV agenda but this is what it is.

 

 

https://theisraelbible.com/biblical-boundaries-land-israel/

 

So start digging those shelters. Any conflict will not be the fault of North Korea or Iran.

 

All this because one man, who never had a single witness claims that someone spoke to him inside his head on a mountain. It wouldn't even be granted a hearing in todays judicial system now would it?

 

Quote

The phrase “from the Nile to the Euphrates” includes a much bigger area than Dan to Be’er Sheva (highlighted in pink on the map).  This phrase has its source in the Covenant of the Parts in which God promises Avraham “’Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates” (Genesis 15:18).  These two rivers mark the limits of potential expansion of the original borders of the Land of Israel.  In addition, Rabbi Menachem Leibtag explains that the Nile and the Euphrates represent the two centers of ancient civilization, Egypt and Mesopotamia.  By saying that the land in between these two bodies of water is set aside for the Children of Israel, God is implying that it is Israel’s destiny to become a blessing to all mankind by declaring His name “at the crossroads of the two great centers of civilization.”

This is actually very important to really understand what is going on inside the heads of the Evangelicals and the Zealots. If Pompeo believes in the Rapture do you think he does not believe in a prophecy told in Genesis? We are at about 2 seconds to midnight on the doomsday clock and Lockheed Martin and Halliburton have never been happier.

 

Edited April 30, 20188 yr by Andaman Al

Trump has been itching for a fight with Iran since his rhetoric on his first overseas trip a year ago as noted on this forum. And we the voters are being softened up for such a conflict.

 

What harm is Shia Iran to the USA 7,000 miles away? It was mainly Saudi and Gulf State Sunnis who were responsible for 911 and more since. And yet strangely SA and UAE are seen as US allies.

 

But of course Iran is a danger to the obvious tail that wags the US dog in the Middle East, that's why there is an attempt to drag the rest of the allies into another futile war on the tail's behalf for similar reasons, under any pretext...such as moving the Iran deal goalposts, reneging on the nuclear deal to force Iran to do the same. Then Trump can blame Iran.

 

I hope the allies have more sense this time.
I hope also that Iran is smart enough to continue the deal with the other 5 signatories, and not succumb to Trump baiting when the USA reneges.

And Iran is ditching the USD for oil exports . They will report it in euro and other currencies like the Yuan . Sadam , Ghadaffi come to mind.

So the "distabilising and malign activities"  , is to be seen broader than their influence in the region.

If Kim is serious about denuclearizing Korea .... he can sell his nukes for a nice profit to Iran. They are going to need it.

3 hours ago, BuaBS said:

And Iran is ditching the USD for oil exports . They will report it in euro and other currencies like the Yuan . Sadam , Ghadaffi come to mind.

So the "distabilising and malign activities"  , is to be seen broader than their influence in the region.

If Kim is serious about denuclearizing Korea .... he can sell his nukes for a nice profit to Iran. They are going to need it.

Kim ain't dim. He will take the lesson of Iran and Iraq and be 45's worst nightmare at the negotiating table.

 

You think he will sell out? Not a hope in hell. He will take the lessons of his dad and grandpa and make 45 look like a ... let's say TWIT, with the "I" replaced with an "A".

Edited April 30, 20188 yr by mikebike

19 minutes ago, mikebike said:

Kim ain't dim. He will take the lesson of Iran and Iraq and be 45's worst nightmare at the negotiating table.

 

You think he will sell out? Not a hope in hell. He will take the lessons of his dad and grandpa and make 45 look like a ... let's say TWIT, with the "I" replaced with an "A".

It's hard to say what Kim is going to do . Selling some knowhow or parts to Iran would be a good money maker or get oil from Iran that maybe come under sanctions again if the nuclear deal is terminated by Trump.

Iran is going to need help against 2 nuclear powers , and I don't think help is going to come from Russia.

Like one poster already said : Iranian targets in Syria were hit last night .... Putin is taking a very long time to get the S 300 to Syria , I doubt he's going to protect Iran.

Just now, BuaBS said:

It's hard to say what Kim is going to do . Selling some knowhow or parts to Iran would be a good money maker or get oil from Iran that maybe come under sanctions again if the nuclear deal is terminated by Trump.

Iran is going to need help against 2 nuclear powers , and I don't think help is going to come from Russia.

Like one poster already said : Iranian targets in Syria were hit last night .... Putin is taking a very long time to get the S 300 to Syria , I doubt he's going to protect Iran.

Kim will get all the oil/energy he needs from China. 

 

Iran has done very well against "2 nuclear powers" thus far.

 

Iran is not looking for Putin's help, 45 is.

6 hours ago, lannarebirth said:

How big of a region? They already have complete dominance in their region.

Really? The Israelis got their nose badly and surprisingly bloodied the last time they invaded Lebanon. It's not legitiimizing Israel's policies to say that they have an understandable concern about Iranian involvement in Syria and Lebanon.

3 hours ago, bristolboy said:

Really? The Israelis got their nose badly and surprisingly bloodied the last time they invaded Lebanon. It's not legitiimizing Israel's policies to say that they have an understandable concern about Iranian involvement in Syria and Lebanon.

That's outside their borders, even the occupied territories. That's what I meant.

In his recent visit to the Middle East. Pompeo met with the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Israel.

With friends like that, who needs enemies?