On behalf of the Government of the United States and the American people, I send sincere congratulations to the people of Lebanon as they celebrate their Independence Day.
Over the last seventy-seven years, Lebanon has faced many challenges, but the past year has been especially trying for the Lebanese people. Be assured that the United States is committed to supporting the people of Lebanon, and we will continue to stand by them through these unprecedented times.
Lebanon National Day
11/22/2020
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On behalf of the Government of the United States and the American people, I send sincere congratulations to the people of Lebanon as they celebrate their Independence Day.
Over the last seventy-seven years, Lebanon has faced many challenges, but the past year has been especially trying for the Lebanese people. Be assured that the United States is committed to supporting the people of Lebanon, and we will continue to stand by them through these unprecedented times.
Public Schedule – November 22, 2020
11/22/2020
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***THE DAILY PUBLIC SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE***
SECRETARY MICHAEL R. POMPEO
Secretary Pompeo is on travel to France, Turkey, Georgia, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia from November 13-23. Please click here for more information.
9:30 p.m. LOCAL Secretary Pompeo meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in Neom, Saudi Arabia. (CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)
Treaty on Open Skies
11/22/2020
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On May 22, 2020, the United States exercised its right pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article XV of the Treaty on Open Skies by providing notice to the Treaty Depositaries and to all States Parties of its decision to withdraw from the Treaty, effective six months from the notification date. Six months having elapsed, the U.S. withdrawal took effect on November 22, 2020, and the United States is no longer a State Party to the Treaty on Open Skies.
U.S. Participation in Afghanistan 2020 Conference
11/22/2020
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Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale will lead the United States delegation to the Afghanistan 2020 Conference, which will be held virtually November 23-24. This event is the sixth quadrennial gathering of approximately 70 countries and international organizations to coordinate international development support for Afghanistan. The conference is being hosted by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Government of Finland, and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
Under Secretary Hale will deliver a statement on behalf of the United States and introduce a video message from Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo on Tuesday, November 24, at 10:45 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. The conference will also feature a U.S.-led side event on Economic Priorities and Aid Effectiveness with keynote remarks from Acting USAID Deputy Administrator John Barsa on Monday, November 23.
The U.S. delegation also includes Chargé d’Affaires to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Ambassador Ross Wilson, Permanent Representative to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations and Other International Organizations Andrew P. Bremberg, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Kelley E. Currie, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia Dean Thompson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Afghanistan Nancy Izzo Jackson, USAID Acting Assistant Administrator of the Bureau for Asia Javier Piedra, USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator for Afghanistan and Pakistan Karen Freeman, USAID Mission Director for Afghanistan Tina Dooley-Jones, and CEO of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation Adam Boehler. During the conference, U.S. participants will emphasize our commitment to a secure, stable, democratic, and self-reliant Afghanistan that is at peace with itself and its neighbors.
The entire conference will be live streamed on UN Web TV (http://webtv.un.org/). More information on the conference, including a schedule of events, is available at https://um.fi/afghanistan-conference-2020. Note that event times reflect the time in Geneva, Switzerland.
“Ever since President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and King Abdul Aziz Al Saud first laid the foundation for our ties 75 years ago, Saudi Arabia has been an important partner in this volatile region. The relationship between our people has grown since that time, and it’s distinguished today by deep and steady cooperation between our two nations.”
– Secretary Michael R. Pompeo, October 14, 2020
Secretary Michael R. Pompeo will travel on November 22 to Saudi Arabia where he will meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to discuss the strong bilateral security and economic partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia, progress made under the U.S-Saudi Arabia Strategic Dialogue held last month in Washington, and issues related to Iran’s malign influence in the region.
THE UNITED STATES AND SAUDI ARABIA: A BEDROCK RELATIONSHIP
For more than 75 years, the United States and Saudi Arabia have built a strong partnership in energy and investment cooperation, trade, counterterrorism, and security.
In October, the two countries launched a strategic dialogue to advance economic and security objectives through working groups on defense, economics and energy cooperation, and culture and education exchanges.
The United States recognizes Saudi Arabia’s progress toward transforming its economy under the Vision 2030 plan while emphasizing the importance of continued human rights reform and strengthening of civil society.
ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIPS BUILD PROSPERITY
The United States and Saudi Arabia support global economic growth and stable energy markets as two of the world’s largest suppliers of oil and gas. Two-way trade of goods and services between Saudi Arabia and the United States totals nearly $40 billion annually and supports some 165,000 American jobs.
U.S. companies are key investment partners in strategic Saudi industries – not just traditional industries such as oil and gas. AMC opened the first cinema in the country in 35 years. Six Flags signed an agreement to establish the world’s largest theme park near Riyadh.
REGIONAL SECURITY INITIATIVES BRING STABILITY TO THE GULF
Saudi Arabia is a founding member of the Coalition to Defeat ISIS and assists U.S. efforts to combat al Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
Saudi Arabia co-chairs the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC) and hosts the center in Riyadh. The TFTC is a platform for information sharing, multilateral coordination, and capacity building aimed at tracking and disrupting illicit financial flows to terrorist groups throughout the world.
Saudi Arabia plays a key role in deterring Iranian malign activities in the region. The Saudi-led Coalition helps the legitimate Yemeni government defend its territory from attacks on civilian targets.
Saudi Arabia and other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council work with the United States on border security, maritime security, and cybersecurity.
PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE TIES CREATE NEW VISIONS FOR THE FUTURE
About 37,000 Saudi students are enrolled in U.S. schools – the fourth highest number from across the world. When these students return home, they are helping to drive Saudi Arabia’s transformation taking place under the Vision 2030 plan.
Senior State Department Official to Traveling Press
11/22/2020
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MODERATOR: Let’s go ahead and get this started. Good morning, everyone. This briefing is provided on background. Attribution is to a senior State Department official. , who you all know, will talk to you about the stops in the Middle East and provide a little context and answer some of your questions.
And with that, I’ll turn it over to .
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Thanks. Good morning. So this is the third country on the – third stop for me on Secretary Pompeo’s trip. I started in Israel and here we are in the Emirates and yesterday in Qatar. And I think certainly, the time in Israel was spent with a key ally of – in the region with which we are only getting closer. The relationship is so deep on so many levels.
But I think in terms of the Emirates and in Qatar, the Secretary had very good meetings yesterday and the day before. I think the takeaway for me that – is really that this administration has really, I think, transformed the relationships here in the Gulf with both the Emirates and Qatar, and then this is beyond the Abraham Accords, which are – themselves are a substantial accomplishment. The relationship that we have strategically, the shared vision, the economic cooperation with both the Emirates and Qatar has increased dramatically over the past four years, and the kind of work that we do together and the investments, the economic cooperation and the strategic, are the full range. And I think the Secretary, who was here, who was in Qatar talking about the broad range of mutual interests and how we move forward on those – in those fronts.
So I could go on, but I think these are all excellent and important and burgeoning relationships for the United States, and will continue to be so. So I’m happy to talk about whatever you want to discuss.
MODERATOR: Okay. Francesco.
QUESTION: Thank you, . There’s a lot of speculation in the region about what the administration is going to do to stress one more time and to strengthen this maximum pressure on Iran before January 20th. I have a lot of friends who ask me, are they going to strike Iran military site – nuclear site, et cetera. They really think it’s going to happen, by the way. Is – I want – was all this discussed during these meetings in the Gulf and in Israel? Is the military option of the strike on the table or was it put off the table from here till January 20th?
And also, is the administration going to designate the Houthis as a terrorist organization? Is that an option as well? And the question behind that is how far can you go in a transition period not to – giving the impression you just want to make things more complicated for the next administration?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Thanks. Well, I don’t remember the exact quote, but I do recall that Secretary Pompeo himself said that all options are on the table.
MODERATOR: Yeah, he said that in an interview with JNS.
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Right, so the – Secretary Pompeo’s statement stands. And it comes – it should come as no secret the administration has, for several years, been focused on this maximum pressure campaign against Iran, which has been enormously successful at denying the regime billions of dollars in revenues that it would have poured into regional militia, whether it be the Houthis, his campaign in Syria, this genocidal campaign in Syria, the Hashd Shaabi in Iraq or Hizballah, among others. So it has denied them funds, and I think has really succeeded in increasing U.S. leverage in the drive to bring them to the table to discuss how they are going to become a normal state.
So this administration, as far as I know, is here until January 20th. And it is – the American people elected this administration and it’ll continue to pursue its policies until it’s not in office anymore. So that’s that on the maximum pressure.
I’m not going to prejudice or talk about possible designations in the future. I wouldn’t do that on Lebanon. I’m not going to do that in – about Yemen. But certainly, there have been reports of this that are out there, and we would hope that the Houthis would negotiate in good faith with the Saudis and with the UN representative, Martin Griffiths, toward finding a political solution for the war in Yemen that has gone on too long and has really resulted in enormous suffering and in a humanitarian capacity for the Yemen people.
About how far you can go during a transitional period: Once again, this administration is in office for a couple more months, and the administration will continue to pursue its policies for a couple more months.
QUESTION: Just to follow up, how many of the 12 conditions set by Mike Pompeo in May 2018 would you say are being respected by Iran, just to understand it’s – I understand the success of the maximum pressure in denying money and increasing leverage, but —
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Yeah, no, that’s – it’s just – so it’s good that the Iran —
QUESTION: — but the ultimate goal was the 12 conditions?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Yes, and I think that the Iranians, that the regime in Tehran, has endured enormous hardship, has forced people to endure enormous hardship prioritizing monies to militias or humanitarian goods and food for its own people in hopes that there would be a change in American politics in November. And they waited, and we’ll see what happens. I would hope that this leverage that has been – that the administration worked so hard to get would be – will be used to good purpose to get the Iranians once again to start behaving like a normal state.
QUESTION: But , again, what are – sorry – oh, sorry.
MODERATOR: Whoever wants to. Go ahead.
QUESTION: Yeah, I’m happy to.
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: For your dime. (Laughter.)
QUESTION: Yeah. Francesco’s question made me think about the broader contents of the Iran strategy. Yeah, they haven’t necessarily – look, they’re 12, 13 times past the enrichment caps. They continue to march down that road that you guys have labeled extremely problematic. But yet there is a different feel in the region. So talk to me a little bit about how regionally you guys have made it so Iran is more isolated than they probably have, here specifically in the past. I’m interested by that.
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Well, certainly, we’ve been consulting with all of our allies routinely throughout the region, talking about these topics wherever we go, wherever the Secretary goes. He is discussing this with the leaders, the foreign ministers, the emirs, and there is a shared, I think, threat reception. Then you have layered over that the Abraham Accords and sort of efforts to sort of integrate like-minded states to that strategic cooperation, intelligence cooperation. And so you have this sort of emerging consensus in the region vis-a-vis Iran, that I think, in part because of our efforts, has really made it a lot more conducive to regional cooperation vis-a-vis that threat. So I think it’s a good news story.
QUESTION: Yeah, and the feeling is from your all’s perspective that that is a fundamental realignment here?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Yes, absolutely, I think transformational.
QUESTION: Will that continue if – in a next administration?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: I think it’s been a great success, and I would hope that the policy and the encouragement for that continues.
MODERATOR: Jimmy?
QUESTION: Yeah. I’m just curious for – going off of that, how much of what we’ve seen, from the Abraham Accords to the maximum pressure campaign to every other aspect of this administration’s strategy in the region, is kind of baked in, is not going to be reversible under a future administration, (inaudible)?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Well, let’s put it another way. I think that there are some natural inclinations that the administration has encouraged and nurtured and helped brought them to fruition. There were ongoing Israeli-Emirati ties, there were ties in Bahrain, there had been back in the ’90s (inaudible) Qatar, and so they (inaudible) Qatar.
We encouraged it. We nurtured them. They’re blossoming. But these – in view of Iran and the desire for economic strategic cooperation, these things are – the roots are present. So I do not – I don’t think these are going to go away. I think that we play an important role in helping to strengthen that, these ties, bring them along, but the inclination has already (inaudible).
QUESTION: , can you talk a little bit more about the Saudi stuff? Is that – as sort of a check-in, what – there’s a notion that this part of the trip is in some ways essentially a victory lap. Abraham Accords are a significant achievement by this administration. I think even the President’s critics agree with that. So can you talk about – a little bit about what that means?
And then second, on the Israel issue, by far the most controversial stop on this trip. And one of the big criticisms that came out of that was that the Secretary’s statements, the visit to the settlement winery in particular, totally failed to or ignored the claims that Palestinians – Palestinians and families have particularly on that land, but also in the broader settlement debate. And there was criticism in Haaretz and in other Israeli media that these moves by the Secretary essentially make it impossible for Palestinians to have any standing in a discussion about what to do about land that they regard as rightfully theirs that they say they were kicked off of. So how do the Secretary’s statements and actions in Israel bring or take into account the fact that there are many, many, many Palestinians who also have claims on a lot of that land?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: (Inaudible) as you know, there – this is a working trip for the Secretary. There are – just because it is November going on December (inaudible), just because there is COVID, et cetera, the business of the U.S. Government interest does not stop. It wouldn’t stop amidst the transition, either. These are pressing issues. These meetings are important and they’re substantive. And relationships – you need face-to-face and nurturing, whether that is at the Secretary’s level, my level. We do these things because they matter and because they’re important to do and, once again, they’re substantive.
So vis-a-vis Israel, let me just say the visit to the (inaudible), I know it made headlines. It was – you’ll recall a year ago in November the Secretary issued a statement that it was the policy of the U.S. Government that the settlements were not illegal, per se. This is entirely consistent with that statement. It is not a diversion. It’s – the policy is not setting new policy or blazing new ground. This is just a reflection of that policy. So – and as far as the Palestinians are concerned, I saw the story, like you did in The New York Times, that referenced somebody about claims on this land. I don’t know. I don’t have enough background about their experience in the Israeli court system. I know that some of you said the case is getting adjudicated in the Palestinians’ favor. But I don’t have any background on this particular claim.
QUESTION: But, I mean, if you’re speaking more broadly, I think the impression is that some of these moves are needlessly inflammatory, or at least that’s the criticism from the PLO in some of the statements they made. I mean, how does the Secretary’s action further the cause of peace?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Well, the Secretary has said all along, as has everybody in the administration, that the sine qua non of furthering the cause for peace is for the Palestinians actually to come to the table and engage in a discussion, something they haven’t done in the better part of a decade. So I think they would say that – I think it’s best said that the Palestinians’ refusal to come to the table is probably the leading obstacle to peace.
QUESTION: Would you go as far as saying that this visit was kind of a (inaudible) for the Israeli Government to go ahead with the annexation or —
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: No. The Israelis have an agreement with the Emiratis that there is not going to be annexation, right, that they have suspended plans for an annexation.
QUESTION: Yeah, (inaudible).
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Right. And as you know, we were involved in the Abraham Accords, we support the Abraham Accords, and we would expect and believe that the Israelis and the Emiratis are enjoying these accords. I went to a trilateral with the Bahrainis also sitting here as the – the Abraham Accords, and they advocated for a warm peace. I do not anticipate that the Israelis would – we would not, in any event, encourage the Israelis to break elements of their commitments to the Emiratis.
MODERATOR: One more?
QUESTION: The transition has come up a couple of times. So just to kind of tie a bow in it, it – what has been the department’s messaging to the Biden transition team? Is that a dialogue that’s been open?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: The Secretary has addressed this again and again. We have a process. Count the votes, and then we will follow the framework as laid out in the Constitution.
QUESTION: We haven’t had the chance to ask the Secretary on this trip.
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: The Secretary answered that question in a briefing at the podium —
QUESTION: We haven’t had a chance to ask —
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: — and has answered it multiple times since then.
QUESTION: I wanted to make that point.
QUESTION: But , has it come up at all in the – in the meetings? Has this come up at all in your meetings with the Secretary? Are people sort of wondering about it or are curious about it?
MODERATOR: I’m not going to get into the substance of a diplomatic discussions.
QUESTION: Last question: The – I know that this administration has taken the abduction of Americans very seriously. Did Mark Frerichs come up at all? I think there’s some belief that maybe he’s being held by people that —
MODERATOR: Again, that’s a South Central Asia question, and our briefer was not in those meetings. But I think you can – you can look to, actually, a statement that the deputy spokesperson made on the record that expressed our continued commitment to bringing American hostages home.
All right.
QUESTION: Thank you.
MODERATOR: Thank you.
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Thank you all.
QUESTION: Thanks, .
The Jerusalem Post
Secretary Michael R. Pompeo With Taher Baraka of Al-Arabiya
11/22/2020
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QUESTION: Thank you for joining us, Mr. Secretary of State.
SECRETARY POMPEO: Great to be with you.
QUESTION: Thank you. In regards to the Middle East peace process with more countries forging into peace deals with or agreements with Israel, are there more countries to come anytime soon?
SECRETARY POMPEO: So I’m very confident that other nations will join what the Emiratis have done, the Bahrainis have done, the Sudanese have done, and recognize the rightful place of Israel among nations. So yes, I’m very confident. They’ll do it because it’s the right thing to do for their nation, because it’ll increase prosperity and security for their country. None of that could have happened without American leadership, without American engagement, without America laying down the reality of the risks in the Middle East, the mess from the Islamic Republic of Iran primarily —
QUESTION: What does “confidence” mean, Mr. Secretary?
SECRETARY POMPEO: They know we’re engaged. We’re engaged in ways that previous administrations weren’t.
QUESTION: So they’re going to do that soon?
SECRETARY POMPEO: They’ll do it on their own timing. They’ll do it when they think it’s in the best interest of each of their nations to do it. We don’t set timelines. We didn’t set timelines, we didn’t set —
QUESTION: Even toward the last days of Trump’s administration —
SECRETARY POMPEO: We didn’t set timelines —
QUESTION: — President Trump’s administration?
SECRETARY POMPEO: We didn’t set timelines for the previous nations. We won’t set timelines for these. What we will do is we will set the conditions. Right. Previously, administrations said, boy, if you don’t solve the problem between Israel and the Palestinians, nothing can move. We must all hate Israel. That’s wrong. That was fundamentally wrong. It didn’t recognize the reality. The reality is that now the Gulf states and Israel recognize they have a common threat from Iran, that in fact while we would love for the Palestinians to engage with Israel, they have chosen not to. Their leadership has rejected President Trump’s vision for peace —
QUESTION: Don’t you think that’s changing in the last days —
SECRETARY POMPEO: So these nations will choose —
QUESTION: — the Palestinian approach?
SECRETARY POMPEO: — to join the Abraham Accords at the time that makes sense for their security and their prosperity. I’m confident that they will do that.
QUESTION: Do you think the Palestinian approach – do you think the Palestinian approach changed the last days with the meetings with the Israelis or not yet? Not enough?
SECRETARY POMPEO: So the Palestinian leadership has not yet chosen to engage in a serious way to say the vision for peace is a good starting point for a discussion around which we can find common ground. There’ll be places we disagree and conflict, but we can get to a solution that makes life better – more freedom, more prosperity for the people of – for the Palestinian people, including those in Gaza.
QUESTION: You just said you are confident other countries will come anytime soon in the peace agreements with Israel. Are we talking about even if this will take place in the last days of President Trump’s administration? I get back to my old question.
SECRETARY POMPEO: I don’t know when they’ll make that decision. Could be today. Could be tomorrow. Could be next week.
QUESTION: Do you think they still interested to do it after the elections?
SECRETARY POMPEO: They’re interested because it’s the right thing for their country. This isn’t about American elections. This is about American engagement, American leadership, and the recognition that the United States will continue to assist them in a way that provides security and freedom for the American people. And when we do that, when America is a force for good throughout the world, including in the Middle East, other nations will want to come alongside of us and they’ll make the right choices, including the choice —
QUESTION: How many countries?
SECRETARY POMPEO: — to partner with Israel for their prosperity.
QUESTION: How many countries are we talking about here? Two, three, four (inaudible)?
SECRETARY POMPEO: Each – every country that wants – every country that wants a better situation for their own people will come along to recognize Israel.
QUESTION: Moving on to our second topic, Mr. Secretary, lately you’ve told the press in Israel that all options are on the table regarding how to deal with Iran from now on. So we can say that even the military option is still on the table after the American elections and after President Trump’s supposedly loss in the elections?
SECRETARY POMPEO: Yes. Our policy has been consistent for the entire time that President Trump’s been in office. It hasn’t changed a bit. We’ve delivered on every commitment that we’ve made to countries throughout the Middle East. We’ve protected Americans. We’ve built up partners who want to be on America’s side, who want to partner with the United States of America. There’s no reason to think that’ll change while President Trump’s in office.
QUESTION: But you know with the transitional period, usually in the United States it’s been said that no president would take such an action in the last days in office.
SECRETARY POMPEO: Our policies don’t change. Our duty doesn’t change. My responsibilities don’t change. I still have an obligation every hour, every minute, to defend the American people and to keep them foremost in our efforts, and we’ll do that. We’ll do that till the very last minute.
QUESTION: So what is the redline?
SECRETARY POMPEO: Redline for what?
QUESTION: Iran. The Iranian regime, what is the redline?
SECRETARY POMPEO: I don’t understand the question.
QUESTION: What is the redline for the Iranian regime, that you have a redline, you tell them, if you do this, we’d strike or not?
SECRETARY POMPEO: Our policy has been consistent. We’re working to build out a coalition, which we have successfully done. It’s part of a larger Middle East strategy that recognized that we had to defeat the caliphate in Syria and Iraq. We did that. We built out a coalition and we crushed the caliphate in its entirety. We built a coalition that said that Iran is the central threat inside of the region. Then we built out a campaign that denied the regime the resources to underwrite Lebanese Hizballah, the Shia militias in Iraq, all the nasty work that they’ve done inside of Syria. And we’ve brought partners alongside of us in each of those efforts. It’s been our policy since we withdrew from the JCPOA back in May of 2018, and it’ll be our policy till our time is complete.
QUESTION: Does the United States consider staging attacks against Iranian-backed militias in the Middle East and Lebanon and Iraq and Syria and Yemen?
SECRETARY POMPEO: We never disclose what we’re talking about or what we’re planning. What we have said consistently is this – and with respect to Iraq in particular – is that we want a free, independent Iraq. You can see it. You can see it in the protests in Iraq. What do they want? They want freedom. They want independence. They don’t want to be under the jackboot of the Islamic Republic of Iran. And so we have been in Iraq to do two things: to defeat the caliphate, which we are now complete with, to continue our effort to make sure that ISIS doesn’t arise again and pose risk to the American people; and second, we’re working to help build out Prime Minister Kadhimi and his team so that they can be free, independent, and sovereign in exactly the way the Iraqi people are demanding.
QUESTION: Are you going to impose more actions on Iran or Iranian militias or their allies in the Middle East?
SECRETARY POMPEO: We never get out in front of announcing a policy decision. When we have something to announce, we’ll do that.
QUESTION: But Mr. Secretary, what is stopping the USA from listing the Houthi militias on the terror list?
SECRETARY POMPEO: We are always reviewing precisely the way to conduct our efforts. That includes our economic pressure campaign. It includes our diplomatic outreach. It certainly includes whether we’re going to designate an individual or particular group. Those issues are constantly under review, not only with respect to things in the Middle East but actions that the Chinese Communist Party is taking in Hong Kong and in Xinjiang. This is part of an ongoing effort by the United States. We’re still at it.
QUESTION: Which might be coming soon – last question – putting Houthi militia on the terror list?
SECRETARY POMPEO: We are constantly reviewing all of our efforts, including who and how we might designate a particular individual or group.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it.
SECRETARY POMPEO: Great. Thank you.
QUESTION: Thank you.
SECRETARY POMPEO: Have a good day.
Secretary Michael R. Pompeo With Taher Baraka of Al-Arabiya
11/22/2020
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QUESTION: Thank you for joining us, Mr. Secretary of State.
SECRETARY POMPEO: Great to be with you.
QUESTION: Thank you. In regards to the Middle East peace process with more countries forging into peace deals with or agreements with Israel, are there more countries to come anytime soon?
SECRETARY POMPEO: So I’m very confident that other nations will join what the Emiratis have done, the Bahrainis have done, the Sudanese have done, and recognize the rightful place of Israel among nations. So yes, I’m very confident. They’ll do it because it’s the right thing to do for their nation, because it’ll increase prosperity and security for their country. None of that could have happened without American leadership, without American engagement, without America laying down the reality of the risks in the Middle East, the mess from the Islamic Republic of Iran primarily —
QUESTION: What does “confidence” mean, Mr. Secretary?
SECRETARY POMPEO: They know we’re engaged. We’re engaged in ways that previous administrations weren’t.
QUESTION: So they’re going to do that soon?
SECRETARY POMPEO: They’ll do it on their own timing. They’ll do it when they think it’s in the best interest of each of their nations to do it. We don’t set timelines. We didn’t set timelines, we didn’t set —
QUESTION: Even toward the last days of Trump’s administration —
SECRETARY POMPEO: We didn’t set timelines —
QUESTION: — President Trump’s administration?
SECRETARY POMPEO: We didn’t set timelines for the previous nations. We won’t set timelines for these. What we will do is we will set the conditions. Right. Previously, administrations said, boy, if you don’t solve the problem between Israel and the Palestinians, nothing can move. We must all hate Israel. That’s wrong. That was fundamentally wrong. It didn’t recognize the reality. The reality is that now the Gulf states and Israel recognize they have a common threat from Iran, that in fact while we would love for the Palestinians to engage with Israel, they have chosen not to. Their leadership has rejected President Trump’s vision for peace —
QUESTION: Don’t you think that’s changing in the last days —
SECRETARY POMPEO: So these nations will choose —
QUESTION: — the Palestinian approach?
SECRETARY POMPEO: — to join the Abraham Accords at the time that makes sense for their security and their prosperity. I’m confident that they will do that.
QUESTION: Do you think the Palestinian approach – do you think the Palestinian approach changed the last days with the meetings with the Israelis or not yet? Not enough?
SECRETARY POMPEO: So the Palestinian leadership has not yet chosen to engage in a serious way to say the vision for peace is a good starting point for a discussion around which we can find common ground. There’ll be places we disagree and conflict, but we can get to a solution that makes life better – more freedom, more prosperity for the people of – for the Palestinian people, including those in Gaza.
QUESTION: You just said you are confident other countries will come anytime soon in the peace agreements with Israel. Are we talking about even if this will take place in the last days of President Trump’s administration? I get back to my old question.
SECRETARY POMPEO: I don’t know when they’ll make that decision. Could be today. Could be tomorrow. Could be next week.
QUESTION: Do you think they still interested to do it after the elections?
SECRETARY POMPEO: They’re interested because it’s the right thing for their country. This isn’t about American elections. This is about American engagement, American leadership, and the recognition that the United States will continue to assist them in a way that provides security and freedom for the American people. And when we do that, when America is a force for good throughout the world, including in the Middle East, other nations will want to come alongside of us and they’ll make the right choices, including the choice —
QUESTION: How many countries?
SECRETARY POMPEO: — to partner with Israel for their prosperity.
QUESTION: How many countries are we talking about here? Two, three, four (inaudible)?
SECRETARY POMPEO: Each – every country that wants – every country that wants a better situation for their own people will come along to recognize Israel.
QUESTION: Moving on to our second topic, Mr. Secretary, lately you’ve told the press in Israel that all options are on the table regarding how to deal with Iran from now on. So we can say that even the military option is still on the table after the American elections and after President Trump’s supposedly loss in the elections?
SECRETARY POMPEO: Yes. Our policy has been consistent for the entire time that President Trump’s been in office. It hasn’t changed a bit. We’ve delivered on every commitment that we’ve made to countries throughout the Middle East. We’ve protected Americans. We’ve built up partners who want to be on America’s side, who want to partner with the United States of America. There’s no reason to think that’ll change while President Trump’s in office.
QUESTION: But you know with the transitional period, usually in the United States it’s been said that no president would take such an action in the last days in office.
SECRETARY POMPEO: Our policies don’t change. Our duty doesn’t change. My responsibilities don’t change. I still have an obligation every hour, every minute, to defend the American people and to keep them foremost in our efforts, and we’ll do that. We’ll do that till the very last minute.
QUESTION: So what is the redline?
SECRETARY POMPEO: Redline for what?
QUESTION: Iran. The Iranian regime, what is the redline?
SECRETARY POMPEO: I don’t understand the question.
QUESTION: What is the redline for the Iranian regime, that you have a redline, you tell them, if you do this, we’d strike or not?
SECRETARY POMPEO: Our policy has been consistent. We’re working to build out a coalition, which we have successfully done. It’s part of a larger Middle East strategy that recognized that we had to defeat the caliphate in Syria and Iraq. We did that. We built out a coalition and we crushed the caliphate in its entirety. We built a coalition that said that Iran is the central threat inside of the region. Then we built out a campaign that denied the regime the resources to underwrite Lebanese Hizballah, the Shia militias in Iraq, a
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