Pompeo meets Saudi king for talks focused on Iran threats

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met today with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman in a visit focused primarily on discussing shared security concerns about regional rival Iran.

Following his meeting at the royal palace with the king, Pompeo heads to a Saudi air base where some 2,500 US troops are stationed in response to threats from Iran.

American troops were sent to Saudi Arabia last summer as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to beef up the United States’ military presence in the Middle East in response to escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran following US President Donald Trump’s decision to pull the US out of Iran’s nuclear agreement with world powers and impose sanctions on the country.

Saudi Arabia and the US have blamed Iran for an attack last summer against Saudi oil facilities that temporarily halved the kingdom’s daily crude production. Iran denies involvement and its allied Yemeni rebel Houthi group says they were behind the attack.

— AP