The US plans to jointly host a global conference focused on the Middle East, particularly Iran, next month in Poland, the US State Department said yesterday.
The meeting will take place in Warsaw on February 13-14, it said in a statement.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News in an interview in Bahrain that the meeting would “focus on Middle East stability and peace and freedom and security here in this region, and that includes an important element of making sure that Iran is not a destabilising influence”.
Secretary Pompeo, who is on an eight-day visit to the Middle East, said the meeting would “bring together dozens of countries from all around the world, from Asia, from Africa, from Western Hemisphere countries, Europe too, the Middle East of course”.
Secretary Pompeo has said during the tour that the US is “redoubling” its efforts to put pressure on Iran and sought to convince allies that it is committed to fighting Islamic State despite President Donald Trump’s decision to pull US troops out of Syria.
Trump last year withdrew the US from the 2015 Iran nuclear accord and moved to reimpose sanctions on Tehran.
Other partners in the deal – including Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China – have sought to keep the agreement from unravelling, although in a shift earlier this week, the European Union moved to impose some sanctions on Iran.
Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz said in a statement that while his country supported the EU’s efforts to maintain the nuclear deal, the agreement “does not stop Iran from activities destabilising the region” and he hoped the conference would bring closer the EU and US positions.
He said more than 70 countries were invited to the conference, including all EU members.
The US State Depart- ment said in a statement there were strong shared interests in Middle East stability.
“The ministerial meeting will address a range of critical issues including terrorism and extremism, missile development and proliferation, maritime trade and security, and threats posed by proxy groups across the region,” it said.
On his Middle East tour, Secretary Pompeo is trying to shore up support in the region on a number of fronts, including the US troop withdrawal from Syria.
State Department’s deputy spokesman Robert Balladino later praised Bahrain’s success in holding parliamentary and municipal elections and the appointment of the first woman parliamentary speaker.
He also praised Bahrain for its religious freedoms and tolerance.
Mr Baladino also praised Bahrain’s role in supporting efforts to contain Iran’s aggression in the region and for hosting the US Fifth Fleet.
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