Secretary of State Michael Pompeo met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and separately with Prince Khalid Bin Salman in Saudi Arabia on his third and final day of a visit to the Kingdom, according to reports, before taking a tour of a key Saudi Arabian air base where the U.S. has deployed defense capabilities.
“Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud and I discussed the ongoing threat posed by the Iranian regime. We also discussed the situations in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and the need for a united GCC. We stand together with Saudi Arabia in addressing these regional security challenges,” Pompeo said in a post on Twitter.
Mike Pompeo and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on February 21, 2020.
Pompeo also said he met with Prince Khalid bin Salman “to reaffirm the importance of the U.S.-Saudi partnership, a critical bulwark for peace and stability in the region.”
“We discussed ways we can counter the ongoing threat posed by the Iranian regime and its destabilizing behavior in Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon, & Syria,” Pompeo added.
Pompeo departed Riyadh en route to Oman.
Pompeo then toured a Saudi Arabian air base where the U.S. has deployed fighter jets and Patriot missile batteries to defend against Iranian attacks, “a visit meant as a show of force against Iran and a sign of strong U.S.-Saudi ties,” Bloomberg reports.
“The force posture that’s here today — not only the American presence here today, but the work we’ve done alongside our Saudi partners to better prepare for strikes of that nature — is very real,” Pompeo told reporters during the visit. “There is a heightened sense of security for facilities like that, and we’re more capable today than we were,” Pompeo said, according to Bloomberg.
Pompeo’s final stop on his overseas trip is to neighboring Oman, where Pompeo wil express condolences on the recent passing of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos.
“Productive trip to #SaudiArabia,” Pompeo said in a tweet before departing.
