Pompeo to visit Israel and UAE with peace, Iran and China on agenda: sources

Published August 23, 2020
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Israel on Monday and the United Arab Emirates a day later, according to two sources. — AFP/File
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Israel on Monday and the United Arab Emirates a day later, according to two sources. — AFP/File

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Israel on Monday and the United Arab Emirates a day later to discuss the countries’ normalisation deal, two sources briefed on his itinerary said.

Also on Pompeo’s agenda will be the security challenges posed by Iran and China in the region, said the sources, who declined to be identified by name or nationality.

Israel and the UAE announced earlier this month that they would normalise diplomatic ties and forge a broad new relationship.

Under the accord, which US President Donald Trump helped broker, Israel agreed to suspend its planned annexation of areas of the occupied West Bank.

Read: UAE-Israel agreement followed many years of discreet talks

The deal also firms up opposition to regional power Iran, which the UAE, Israel and the United States view as the main threat in the conflict-riven Middle East.

White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, is expected to travel to Israel and the UAE in early September, and may stop in other countries as well, an administration official said. Kushner will be accompanied by Avi Berkowitz, Trump’s Middle East envoy, the official said.

Kushner and Berkowitz will thank Israel and the UAE for completing the deal, the official said.

Editorial

Ominous demands
Updated 18 May, 2024

Ominous demands

The federal government needs to boost its revenues to reduce future borrowing and pay back its existing debt.
Property leaks
18 May, 2024

Property leaks

THE leaked Dubai property data reported on by media organisations around the world earlier this week seems to have...
Heat warnings
18 May, 2024

Heat warnings

STARTING next week, the country must brace for brutal heatwaves. The NDMA warns of severe conditions with...
Dangerous law
Updated 17 May, 2024

Dangerous law

It must remember that the same law can be weaponised against it one day, just as Peca was when the PTI took power.
Uncalled for pressure
17 May, 2024

Uncalled for pressure

THE recent press conferences by Senators Faisal Vawda and Talal Chaudhry, where they demanded evidence from judges...
KP tussle
17 May, 2024

KP tussle

THE growing war of words between KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and Governor Faisal Karim Kundi is affecting...