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Mike Pompeo visits Saudi Arabia, Israel and Jordan

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Mike Pompeo visits Saudi Arabia, Israel and Jordan

Discusses Iran nuclear deal, Yemen’s Houthis, and Qatar crisis

US President Donald Trump’s priority for Saudi Arabia was once again expressed when his new Secretary of State Mike Pompeo chose to visit the Kingdom on Saturday. Trump himself took US Air Force One to Riyadh for his maiden trip out of the country in May last year.

Pompeo arrived in Riyadh on a hastily-arranged visit to the Middle East as the US aims to muster support for new proposed sanctions against Iran before Trump takes the final call on nuclear deal on May 12.

Read More: Trump, Macron for new Iran deal, instead JCPOA

According to Saudi Arabia’s Al-Arabia TV network, Saudi Arabian foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir, while addressing joint press conference with his US counterpart, stressed on Sunday in Riyadh, on the need to impose further sanctions on Iran.

He pointed out Iran’s successive violations and support to Houthi missiles fired from Yemen towards Saudi Arabia. He was quoted saying, “We support Trump’s policy toward Iran, especially with regard to the nuclear agreement.”

Read More: Houthi warns: US and Saudi Arabia will regret in Yemen

On his part Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stressed that the Saudi Arabia’s security is a priority for the US and added that Iran was the largest state sponsor of terrorism, Al-Arabia reports.

Earlier in the day, King Salman bin Abdulaziz received Mike Pompeo at his palace and reviewed bilateral relations, and latest developments in the Middle East.Mike Pompeo visits Saudi Arabia, Israel and Jordan

After Riyadh, US Secretary of State is visiting Israel and Jordan, the other close allies in the region.  The Middle East visit came just two days after Pompeo was sworn-in as the Secretary of State.  President Donald Trump is set to decide whether to pull out of the 2015 nuclear deal also known as JCPOA with Iran that is still supported other UNSC permanent members and Germany.

Read More: Trump may start diplomatic war with European allies on Iran n-deal

Brian Hook, a senior policy advisor travelling with Pompeo told reporters, “We are urging nations around the world to sanction any individuals and entities associated with Iran’s missile program, and it has also been a big part of discussions with Europeans.”

Read More: Trump want money from Saudi Arabia for staying US forces in Syria

He referred to the ballistic missiles fired into Saudi Arabia by Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement killing a man earlier on Saturday. He said that Iran supports Yemen’s Houthis. “Iran’s missiles prolong war and suffering in the Middle East, they threaten our security and economic interests and they especially threaten Saudi Arabia and Israel,” he said.

The senior US officials said that Saudi Arabia blame Iran for smuggling the missiles into Yemen.

Read More: Saudi shoots down ‘toy drone’ near Royal Palace in Riyadh

Meanwhile Aljazeera reports that US Secretary of State is imploring Saudi Arabia to end the blockade against Qatar, which has been led by Riyadh since June 2017. UAE, Bahrain and Egypt had also cut diplomatic, trade and travel ties with Qatar along with Saudi Arabia.

Al-Jazeera quoted unnamed US officials telling reporters that Pompeo would urge Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, also known as MBS and King Salman to resolve the Gulf crisis during a series of meetings on Saturday and Sunday.

Pompeo was sqorn in as top US diplomat on Thursday and flew to Brussels for a visit to NATO for a full day job. On Saturday, he began his Middle East tour.

New York Times reports that Mike Pompeo, the former CIA chief, has also asked Saudi Arabia to allow humanitarian and commercial goods into Yemen. He will fly to Israel on Sunday night and will visit Amman, the Jordanian capital afterwards.

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Kamala Harris vs Donald Trump: Voting begins in United States

Over 82 million Americans have opted for early voting to cast their ballots for Donald Trump or Kamala Harris.

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Kamala Harris vs Donald Trump: Voting begins in United States

The Voting for the 2024 US presidential election has begun in the eastern time zone in America. Following months of intense campaigning by Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and her Republican challenger Donald Trump, Americans will vote to choose their next president.

Reportedly, the first ballots were cast in the minutes after midnight (US time) in a tiny New Hampshire township along the US-Canada border. Over 82 million Americans have opted for early voting to cast their ballots for Donald Trump or Kamala Harris. Several pollsters have predicted a neck-and-neck contest, which brings the focus on the swing states to decide the fate of the presidential election.

Notably, in the United States, most states have a very clear preference for either the Republican or Democratic candidate. With this, only seven key swing states namely Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina will decide the result. Winning the majority of these aforesaid swing states is often essential for candidates aiming to secure the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.

In this election, Pennsylvania has emerged as the biggest prize between the two candidates. With the most electoral votes (19) than any other battleground state, Pennsylvania could possibly determine whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris clinches the White House.

On the last day of campaigning, Republican nominee Trump and Democratic nominee Harris criss-crossed key battleground states and delivered closing remarks. Former President Donald Trump, who is seeking a return to power, held rallies in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Michigan while Vice President Kamala Harris addressed supporters in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.

Earlier in 2016, Donald Trump managed to make inroads in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, the three Great Lakes states that make up the blue wall or a Democratic stronghold. Nonetheless, in the 2020 US Election, US President Joe Biden wrested the states back to the Democratic camp.

Notably, to win the presidency, a candidate needs a majority of electoral votes of 270 out of 538.

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Amid India-Canada diplomatic tensions, Justin Trudeau shares video of his Diwali celebrations

This comes a day after India expressed its concern over the reports of cancelled Diwali celebrations in Canada.

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Amid the ongoing diplomatic tensions between Canada and India over the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday shared a video of his Diwali celebration on social media platform X.

Sharing a 44-second video of his Diwali celebrations on social media, the Canadian Prime Minister wrote, “Happy Diwali! So many special moments shared celebrating with the community this week.”

This comes a day after India expressed its concern over the reports of cancelled Diwali celebrations in Canada.

The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Saturday, while addressing the media over Canada’s serious allegation against Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Nijjar, said it was unfortunate that the prevailing atmosphere in Canada has reached high levels of intolerance and extremism.

In the video, Prime Minister Trudeau showed off some colorful religious threads on his wrists, explaining that he received them during visits to three Hindu temples in Canada recently. He called them symbols of “good luck” and “protection,” adding with a smile, “I’m not taking them off until they fall off”.

Trudeau was also seen interacting warmly with the community, celebrating the festival, and enjoying delicious Indian sweets like jalebis, which he jokingly said he would “save for the team.”

On November 1, Trudeau posted on X, “Happy Diwali! Today, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, and Jain families will celebrate the triumph of light over darkness with festivities, candles, diyas, and fireworks. Wishing you all joy and prosperity during this special time.”

Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Jaiswal said India condemns the recent allegations made by the Canadian government against Shah that he was purportedly involved in the killing of Nijjar and called it “absurd and baseless”.

Jaiswal also said that India had summoned the Canadian High Commissioner on Friday to protest in the strongest terms for the references made to the Union Home Minister of India before the Committee by Canada’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison.

On Tuesday, Morrison claimed that Shah orchestrated a campaign of violence, intimidation, and intelligence-gathering aimed at Sikh separatists on Canadian soil. He informed members of Canada’s national security committee in Parliament that he had confirmed Shah’s name to The Washington Post, which was the first to report the allegations. However, Morrison did not provide details on how Canada became aware of Shah’s alleged involvement.

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India, China complete disengagement in Depsang, Demchok at LAC after 4 years standoff

The Indian Army said that coordinated patrolling will start soon by both sides, and the ground commanders will continue to hold talks.

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India, China complete disengagement in Depsang, Demchok at LAC after 4 years standoff

In a significant development, India and China have completed the disengagement exercise in the Depsang and Demchok friction points at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. The troops of both the countries are now verifying the vacation of positions and removal of infrastructure.

Reportedly, the Indian Army said that coordinated patrolling will start soon by both sides, and the ground commanders will continue to hold talks. The two sides will exchange sweets for Diwali tomorrow.

Earlier, Foreign secretary Vikram Misri announced that New Delhi and Beijing reached an agreement to disengage in the remaining friction points at LAC in eastern Ladakh. After the agreement, the two countries began troops disengagement at the two friction points at Demchok and Depsang plains on October 23.

India-China relations worsened because of the Chinese troops’ aggression along the Line of Actual Control, the de facto border, in April 2020. It further deteriorated on June 15, 2020, after 20 Indian soldiers died in the line of duty thwarting the Chinese offensive in the Galwan Valley. New Delhi had said India’s bilateral relations with China will normalise only after the situation at the LAC returns to what it was before May 2020.

Reports said that the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have pulled back their forward-deployed troops and equipment from the two flashpoints, and have also dismantled temporary structures that had been built during the four-year-long standoff.

The Indian soldiers will resume their patrolling in areas that had been cut off because of the PLA’s presence. Nonetheless, the disengagement in Depsang and Demchok will not lead to the creation of buffer zones.

Both the countries had disengaged from Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso, Gogra (PP-17A) and Hot Springs (PP-15) areas and created buffer zones. Speaking to a newspaper publication, Lieutenant General Vinod Bhatia (retd), a former director general of military operations said that the disengagement at Depsang and Demchok will facilitate patrolling by both sides in a coordinated manner, and in the agreed upon frequency and strength of the patrolling parties.

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