Pompeo to push anti-Iran message in trip to Kuwait, Israel, Lebanon
In his trip to Israel and Lebanon this week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will emphasize the threat from Iran and Iranian-backed proxies.
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will emphasize the threat from Iran and Iranian-backed proxies such as Hezbollah when he travels to Kuwait, Israel and Lebanon this week, offering Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yet another boost from the Donald Trump administration ahead of Israeli elections next month.
Pompeo will meet with Netanyahu as the head of Israel’s government, not as a candidate, and will not meet with retired Gen. Benny Gantz or any other candidates running in Israel’s elections, scheduled for April 9, a State Department official said.
“We have major US interests with Israel that don’t go into suspension because of the electoral cycle in Israel, [or] when we are in [an] electoral cycle, is precisely how you should view the frame for this visit,” the senior State Department official, speaking not for attribution, told journalists on a call today.
Nevertheless, Netanyahu and Gantz are both due to give keynote addresses to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee policy conference in Washington, DC, March 24 and 25, just after Pompeo returns from his latest trip to the region.
