Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday that Iran is trying to “foment terror” across the globe amid the worldwide coronavirus pandemic.
Pompeo made the remark during a visit to Israel ahead of a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, according to AFP.
Even as Iran continues to battle against the virus outbreak that has infected more than 112,000 people and killed nearly 7,000 in the Middle East country, Tehran was using “resources to foment terror across the world, even when the people of Iran are struggling so mightily,” Pompeo said.
“It tells you a lot about the soul of those people who lead that country,” he added.
Early Wednesday, Pompeo tweeted photos of himself stepping off a US government plane in Israel wearing a face mask with the colors of the US flag and stars on it.
“Glad to be in Israel to coordinate with @IsraeliPM @Netanyahu and @Gantzbe [Benny Gantz] on countering two critical threats: COVID-19 and Iran,” Pompeo wrote in the tweet. “Israel and the United States will take on these challenges side-by-side.”
Hours later, Pompeo tweeted photos of his meeting with Netanyahu.
“We had a fruitful discussion on ways we can work together to address the many shared challenges we face,” Pompeo wrote in the post. “As always, the U.S. has a great friend in Israel and our commitment to Israel’s security is unwavering.”
Pompeo’s visit comes amid two days of deadly violence in the West Bank.
Netanyahu touted the Trump administration’s persistent pressure on Iran, a country he said was continuing with its “aggressive designs and its aggressive actions against Americans, Israelis and everyone else in the region.”
With Post wires