US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday defended his tour of Gulf Arab states and the Trump administration’s continued efforts to squeeze Iran, even as a new US administration led by Joe Biden prepares to enter the White House in January.
Although Pompeo has not taken questions from US-based reporters traveling with him over the past 10 days, he sat down with the Saudi-owned broadcaster Al-Arabiya in Dubai for brief televised remarks Sunday. “Our policies don’t change. Our duty doesn’t change. My responsibilities don’t change,†he said. “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 to the very last minute.â€
