Pompeo Rails Against Iran During Middle East Tour

Donna Abdulaziz in Riyadh and

Dov Lieber in Tel Aviv

Updated April 29, 2018 12:10 p.m. ET

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered a broadside against Iran on his first foreign trip as the U.S.’s top diplomat, calling Tehran the world’s “greatest sponsor of terrorism” and repeating President Donald Trump’s threat to pull out of the nuclear deal if it isn’t changed.

“We are determined to make sure [Iran] never possesses a nuclear weapon,” Mr. Pompeo said Sunday at a joint news conference in Riyadh with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir. “The Iran deal in its current form does not provide that assurance.”

Mr. Pompeo arrived in Saudi Arabia on Saturday evening to discuss a host of regional issues with King Salman and his 32-year-old son, Crown Prince Mohammed, the country’s day-to-day ruler. The U.S. has called on Arab countries to send a military force to Syria, is seeking an end to war between Saudi Arabia and Yemeni rebels, and is looking for the Saudis and the United Arab Emirates to end their feud with neighboring Qatar.

The subject of Iran took center stage, though, reflecting Mr. Pompeo’s opposition to the agreement negotiated in 2015 between Tehran, the U.S. and five other world powers to constrain the country's nuclear program in return for relief from international sanctions. His first two stops this weekend were Saudi Arabia and Israel, two of the U.S.’s strongest allies in its quest to contain Iran.

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Mr. Pompeo said the U.S. was working with its European allies to “fix” the deal. Mr. Trump has criticized the agreement for a provision that allows Tehran to restart its nuclear progress after a decade, among other things.

Mr. Trump has set May 12 as a deadline for changing the Iran deal. On that date, he can refuse to continue providing sanctions relief for Iran, setting up an uncertain series of events.

Later Sunday, at a brief appearance in Tel Aviv with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr. Pompeo repeated Mr. Trump’s threat to pull out from the Iran deal if it isn’t changed significantly, but expressed pessimism.

“If he [President Trump] can’t fix it, he’s going to withdraw from the deal,” Mr. Pompeo said. “It’s very flawed.”

Mr. Pompeo said Iran’s actions in the Middle East had to be taken into account as the U.S. and Europe try to hash out a way forward on the deal. He said Iran “destabilizes this entire region,” supporting Yemeni rebels who fire missiles on Saudi Arabia and backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in that country’s civil war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, meets Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Tel Aviv on Sunday. Photo: pool/Reuters

“Unlike the prior administration, we will not neglect the vast scope of Iran’s terrorism. It is indeed the greatest sponsor of terrorism in the world,” Mr. Pompeo said in Riyadh. “Iran has only behaved worse since the deal was approved.”

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel both traveled to Washington in recent days to convince Mr. Trump to stick with the Iran deal, but made little headway. On Sunday, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May’s office said she spoke with Mr. Macron and Ms. Merkel separately and they had collectively resolved “to tackle the range of challenges that Iran poses—including those issues that a new deal might cover.”

Riyadh was the first stop for Mr. Pompeo on a quick tour through the Middle East after his confirmation as secretary of state last week. He then met with Mr. Netanyahu in Tel Aviv before heading to Amman, Jordan.

By making Saudi Arabia and Israel the first destinations on his first official trip abroad, Mr. Pompeo underscored the deepened relationship that Mr. Trump has tried to develop with the two countries. Mr. Trump also visited Saudi Arabia and Israel on his first official foreign trip and has sought closer ties with Riyadh as a bulwark against Iran.

In Saudi Arabia, Mr. Pompeo said he had dinner with Prince Mohammed, who this month finished a nearly three-week tour of the U.S., including a stop in Washington to see Mr. Trump. In addition to Iran, Mr. Jubeir said, Mr. Pompeo discussed the Syrian civil war, supporting Iraq, the crisis in Yemen, Libya’s chaotic governance and politics in Lebanon, where an election is taking place this week.

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Mr. Pompeo signaled it was time to resolve a diplomatic impasse between Qatar and its neighbors. Mr. Trump initially supported isolating Qatar, but Mr. Pompeo issued a call for unity.

“Gulf unity is necessary, we need to achieve it,” he said.

With Mr. Netanyahu, Mr. Pompeo addressed the Trump administration’s attempt to broker a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. He said the U.S. Embassy in Israel would move to Jerusalem on May 14 and that the boundaries of the city would be worked out in peace negotiations.

Mr. Pompeo also warned that Iran increasingly posed a direct threat to Israel. The Israeli military has allegedly launched strikes in recent months against Iranian positions in Syria.

“The United States is with Israel in this fight, and we strongly support Israel’s sovereign right to defend itself,” Mr. Pompeo said.

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