Pompeo tours the Gulf to reassure allies
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is to embark on a tour of the Gulf and Middle East this week to strengthen alliances and reassure key partners about American backing for the war in Yemen and the battle against Iran’s influence.
Mr Pompeo will leave on Tuesday for an eight-day trip that will take in all of the GCC members, plus Egypt and Jordan, the State Department said on Friday.
His tour of the Gulf is centred on concerns about the recent symbolic vote in the Senate on the Yemen civil war.
Trump administration officials have repledged their support to the Arab Coalition to beat back Iran’s influence in the country where Houthi rebels backed by Tehran overran major population centres in 2014.
The US wants a solution to the three-year war in Yemen between the internationally recognised government
and the Houthi rebels. Both sides recently agreed to a ceasefire in the port city of Hodeidah while UN envoy Martin Griffiths seeks a new round of talks between them after talks in Sweden brought about the ceasefire deal last month.
Mr Pompeo is expected to push for all parties to the conflict in Yemen to follow through on the truce and troop withdrawal agreement they reached at those talks.
The Arab Coalition has documented dozens of Houthi ceasefire breaches in Hodeidah in recent days and the World Food Programme said it had evidence that Houthi rebels were siphoning off vital aid for starving people.
The agency has threatened to suspend aid reserved for three million Yemenis if the Houthis do not show that the deliveries are reaching those in need.
There is also disquiet in the Middle East over US President Donald Trump’s abrupt decision to withdraw US troops from Syria last month. There are fears that such a vacuum left by the US will allow Iran to gain an even greater foothold in the war-torn country.
Washington wants its allies in the region to shoulder more of the burden in maintaining regional security and stability, amid fears of a resurgence of extremist groups such as Al Qaeda and ISIS as US forces pull back.
State Department officials say Mr Pompeo also hopes to make moves to heal the alliance of the six countries of the GCC on this trip.
In 2017, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic, trade and transport ties with GCC member Qatar over its support for extremist groups and backing of Iran.
To strengthen the group, the US is hoping a GCC summit can be arranged as early as the first quarter of this year, a US official told Reuters.
But Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr Anwar Gargash, has said that the UAE would probably maintain the standoff with Qatar this year.
“In my estimation, the boycott of Qatar will continue in 2019 because it’s linked to necessary changes in Doha’s destructive tendencies,” Mr Gargash said in a Twitter post on January 1.
“Qatar will continue to fail to combat the action taken against them, despite its excessive cost.”
Mr Pompeo’s itinerary will see him land in Amman before travelling to Cairo for security and energy co-operation talks. He will then fly to Manama, Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet, to continue discussions on the Middle East Strategic Alliance aimed at countering Iran.
He travels to Abu Dhabi before flying to Doha and on to Riyadh. Mr Pompeo will wrap up his tour with stops in Muscat, Oman and Kuwait City.
The Arab Coalition has documented dozens of Houthi ceasefire breaches in Hodeidah