U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday met said during a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Bahrain's foreign minister that regional normalization deals leave Iran "ever more isolated".
Pompeo arrived in Israel on Wednesday afternoon for the last visit to the Middle East as the chief diplomat of the U.S. President Donald Trump administration, considered by some to be pro-Israeli.
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U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Bahrain's Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani
(Photo: AFP)
Bahrain is one of several Arab states that have agreed under U.S.-brokered pacts to normalize relations with the Jewish state, which the Palestinians have decried as a "betrayal".
Upon arrival, Pompeo held a press conference with Netanyahu and Bahrain's Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, who arrived hours earlier where he was to meet his Israeli counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi as well as the prime minister himself.
During the press conference Pompeo praised the normalization deals between the two countries, which he said have been welcomed around the world and leave Iran "more isolated than ever".
The normalization deals "tell malign actors like the Islamic Republic of Iran that their influence in the region is waning and that they are ever more isolated and shall forever be until they change their direction," Pompeo said
Bahrain's foreign minister began his speech by urging both Israelis and Palestinians to come to a negotiating table in order to find a solution to the years' long conflict, in what appears to be an attempt to contain the anger of the Palestinian Authority.
"In order to achieve and consolidate such a peace, the Palestinian and Israeli conflict needs to be resolved," Zayani said. "I therefore call for both parties to get around the negotiating table to achieve a viable two-state solution as is also sought by the international community," he added.
He also added that Israel and Bahrain will implement E-Visa system on December 1 for their citizens to travel freely between the two countries. The system would entail applying online for entry visas.