Separately US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will also be in the region from January 8 to 15. He will travel to Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait.He is slated to discuss regional issues with the leaders including Iran, counter terrorism and the Middle East peace process.In Saudi Arabia, the State Department said, Pompeo will “also will seek an update on the status of the investigation into the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.”Netanyahu also met with Pompeo while in Brazil earlier this week.Pompeo on Thursday told Fox’s Sean Hannity that the US is combating Iran with a coalition of Arab states and Israel.“We know that [Iran] is a real threat to the world and to America, and so we have developed relationships with Arab countries and Israel. We’ve brought them together to develop a coalition to keep Americans safe from things going on in the Middle East,” Pompeo said.Countries like the Saudis, Egyptians, Jordanians and Israel “are now working together across multiple fronts,” he said.The US, he said, will still be able to counter the threat from ISIS in Syria, even when its troops have gone home.“We haven’t changed our policy about continuing to make sure that there is no ISIS resurgence, and we’re just going to do it in a way that is smarter and better,” he said.On Thursday, Netanyahu addressed the changing Trump administration policy about troop deployment in the Middle East, noting that the US will continue to economically support the battle against regional threat, while Israel will continue to use its military might.US President Donald Trump, “is acting against Iran in the economic sphere and here in Israel we are acting against Iran in the military sphere,” Netanyahu said.Leaving tomorrow for Israel & Turkey to discuss the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria, how we will work with allies & partners to prevent the resurgence of ISIS, stand fast with those who fought with us against ISIS, & counter Iranian malign behavior in the region. 1/2
— John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) January 4, 2019
Netanyahu tells Putin he's determined to oust Iran from Syria
The two men spoke in advance of a visit to Israel and Turkey this weekend by National Security Advisor John Bolton to discuss the withdrawal of US troops from Syria.
