Pompeo welcomes warming ties between Israel and Gulf states

10 January 2019, 5:02 pm

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Pompeo welcomes Israel’s warming ties with Arab Gulf states in a speech calling for Middle East countries to put aside “old rivalries” and confront Iran.

“New bonds are taking root that were unimaginable until very recently,” he says, pointing to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s trip last year to the sultanate of Oman, a country with which Israel has no formal ties.

Pompeo also notes the judo competition in Abu Dhabi where for the first time Israeli athletes were able to compete under the Israeli flag.

“It was also the first time an Israeli culture and sports minister attended a sports event in the Gulf. She said, and I quote: ‘It is a dream come true,'” he says, quoting Miri Regev’s reaction to the playing of the Israeli national anthem.