Mike Pompeo looks to build coalition amid tensions with Iran
World News | Published: Jun 24, 2019
The US secretary of state visited Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi and will also travel to India, Japan and South Korea.
US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has held talks with the Saudi king and crown prince about countering the military threat from Iran by building a broad, global coalition that includes Asian and European countries.
Mr Pompeo is likely to face a tough sell in Europe and Asia, particularly from those nations still committed to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran that President Donald Trump repudiated last year.
With tensions running high in the region after Iran shot down a US surveillance drone on June 20 and Mr Trump said he aborted a retaliatory strike, Iran's naval commander warned that his forces will not hesitate to down more US drones that violate its airspace.
The US has been building up its military presence in the Persian Gulf.
Productive meeting with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud today to discuss heightened tensions in the region and the need to promote maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz. Freedom of navigation is paramount. pic.twitter.com/efuZq5EOpK
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) June 24, 2019
The US announced additional sanctions Monday on Iran aimed at pressuring the Iranian leadership into talks.
The sanctions, re-imposed after Mr Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal, have crippled the Iranian economy and pushed up the cost of living.
Iran has decried US sanctions, which essentially bar it from selling its oil internationally, as "economic terrorism".
Mr Pompeo, considered a hard-liner in Washington, referred to Iran as "the world's largest state sponsor of terror" before he embarked on the hastily arranged Middle East stops on his way to India, Japan and South Korea.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo exits the plane at sunset as he arrives in Abu Dhabi (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
But Germany, France and Britain, as well as Russia and China, remain part of the nuclear accord that lifted sanctions on Iran in exchange for set limits on its uranium enrichment levels.
Mr Trump pulled the US out of the deal last year.
Germany, Britain and France have sent envoys to Tehran recently, signalling they remain committed to diplomacy and dialogue.
They cautioned against moves that can lead to conflict between the US and Iran.
Iranian merchants conduct their business at a carpet market of the old main bazaar in Tehran, Iran (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
German media have drawn parallels between Mr Pompeo's talk of a coalition and President George W. Bush's "coalition of the willing" against Iraq in 2003, which Germany and France opposed.
German foreign ministry spokesman Christofer Burger said his country had "taken note via the media" of Mr Pompeo's comments and that Germany's "top aim is and remains a de-escalation of the serious situation".
On Monday, Mr Trump tweeted that China and Japan depend on the security of the Persian Gulf waterways for the bulk of their oil imports, and he asked why the US is protecting the shipping lanes for other countries "for zero compensation".
"All of these countries should be protecting their own ships on what has always been a dangerous journey."
He said the US doesn't "even need to be there" because it produces much of its own energy needs.
Brian Hook, the US special envoy for Iran, said one option could be to "enhance" an existing multinational maritime force of about 30 countries that currently fights drug and arms smuggling in the region.
The narrow Strait of Hormuz, which lies between Iran and Oman and opens to the Persian Gulf, is paramount for Asian oil importers.
An estimated 18 million to 20 million barrels of oil, much of it crude, pass through the strait every day.
This map provided by the US department of defence shows the site where they say a US Navy RQ-4 drone was shot down (AP)
After his meetings in Saudi Arabia with King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Mr Pompeo tweeted that he had a "productive meeting" with the monarch and discussed "heightened tensions in the region and the need to promote maritime security" in the Strait of Hormuz.
Mr Pompeo then travelled to neighbouring Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, another close US ally.
The regional stops may be aimed at reassuring Washington's Sunni Gulf Arab allies that the White House remains committed to keeping pressure on Shiite Iran following Mr Trump's decision against retaliation, which likely raised questions about US willingness to use force against the Islamic Republic.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
Iran's naval commander, Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi, declared that Tehran is capable of shooting down other American spy drones that violate its airspace, saying "the crushing response can always be repeated."
He spoke during a meeting of defence officials in Iran.
Mr Trump has wavered between bellicose language and actions toward Iran and a more accommodating tone, including an offer for negotiations.
Iran has said it is not interested in a dialogue with Mr Trump.
One last visual: Red dot is the impact point of the trespassing drone against the border of Iran; and the border of the United States. pic.twitter.com/nqVYI6EmkL
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) June 22, 2019
Saudi Arabia and the US accused Iran of being behind attacks on tankers near the Persian Gulf in recent weeks, while the UAE has been urging diplomacy to avert a wider conflict.
On the eve of Mr Pompeo's visit to the kingdom, Yemen's Iranian-allied rebels attacked a Saudi airport near the Saudi-Yemen border, killing a Syrian resident and wounding 21 other civilians, the Saudi military said.
The Houthi rebels claimed they used bomb-laden drones to attack the Abha airport, the second in less than two weeks.
Drones were also used against a Saudi oil pipeline last month.
Saudi Arabia has been at war with the rebel Houthis in Yemen for more than four years.
The Houthis say the attacks are a response to relentless Saudi airstrikes on Yemen that have killed thousands.
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