The fallout over Mike Pompeo’s Middle East tour

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By CGTN’s The Point

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Saudi Arabia on Saturday on a hastily-arranged visit to the Middle East as the United States aims to muster support for new sanctions against Iran.

“The fact that Mike Pompeo came to the Middle East immediately after he was sworn in, I think, is very significant,” said Marcus Sheff, the CEO of an educational research organization called Impact-se in Tel Aviv.

Sheff thought Pompeo’s visits countries that are important regional strategic allies for the US, sent more than just a message about the US-Israeli relationship and the US-Saudi relationship.

Pompeo's first visit to the Middle East as the Secretary of State ended on Monday in Amman, Jordan. The four-day tour included stops in Saudi Arabia and Israel. The Iran nuclear deal was one of the main issues that dominated discussions between Pompeo and regional leaders – highlighting the complex relations among the various nations.

“Obviously, Mike Pompeo is more in line with President Trump,” said Doga Eralp, a professorial lecturer from the School of International Service at American University in Washington DC. “The possible move of the United States is either come up with a better deal that will better work for the US, or just decertify the deal and reimpose the sanctions on Iran,” he added.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clarified on Monday what he said were thousands of “secret files” that proved that Iran had once secretly pursued nuclear weapons. Pompeo said the information indicates that the Iran nuclear deal signed in 2015 was not built on good faith.

“I think this move by the Israelis and Netanyahu is essentially a propaganda campaign before the 12 May deadline," said Hamed Mousavi, a professor at the University of Tehran. The campaign deadline was set by US President Donald Trump on whether to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal.

Mousavi concluded, "They are essentially trying to push the Americans to withdraw from the nuclear deal.”

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