Former US Secretary of State under the Trump administration Mike Pompeo criticized the Biden administration for not taking “actual steps” to build relationships with Gulf nations, in an exclusive interview with Al Arabiya on Friday.
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Having previously stated that the Biden administration’s policy towards Iran and the Guld region endangers the security of the US, according to Pompeo, the work he did under former US President Donald Trump contributed to “creating stability in the [Gulf] region.”
“I haven't seen them take actual steps that build our relationships with our partners in the region. The Abraham Accords were part of it. The work that we did to make sure that the nations in the region had Patriot missile batteries and weapon systems, America’s forward footprint and al-Udeid in the fifth fleet in Bahrain… these were all elements of creating stability in the region,” he told Al Arabiya.
Pompeo was referring to Trump’s success in pushing for the normalization of relations between the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, Morocco and Israel under the Abraham Accords, one of his administration’s most renowned achievements.
Also under the Trump administration, the US attempted to establish the Middle East Strategic Alliance which, in theory, aimed to improve the region’s military capabilities and focus on countering Iran, among other mutual threats. Aside from the US, this involved Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Egypt, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, and Egypt.
“I’ve not seen this administration continue to reinforce those in a way that I think is meaningful and sends messages both to our adversary in Iran, and our friends, more broadly, our Israeli friends, Saudi friends, our Emirati friends, that the United States is prepared to help them secure their nations.”
Read more:
‘So much at stake,’ Biden’s pick to be US envoy to Saudi Arabia says
US President Biden to visit Saudi Arabia at the invitation of King Salman
Saudi, US officials discuss ways to boost economic partnership
