What Happened: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has announced that the United States will host a global summit on Middle Eastern security on Feb. 13-14 in Poland, The National reported Jan. 11. Among other issues, the summit will focus on how to effectively counter Iranian influence in the region.
Why It Matters: Pompeo announced the summit during his tour of the Middle East, which is intended to reassure Washington's partners that the U.S. withdrawal from Syria will not undercut its commitment to countering Tehran's influence in the region.
Background: The Trump administration has spent two years in an attempt to build an anti-Iran coalition with its regional allies to reduce its footprint in the Middle East. However, Washington's partners in the region remain divided among themselves on internal issues and on the importance of countering Tehran's influence.
Read More:
- Syria: The Pros and Cons of a U.S. Withdrawal (Dec. 19, 2018)
- How Iran's Cyber Game Plan Reflects Its Asymmetrical War Strategy (Dec. 18, 2018)
- Why Iran's Government Will Bear the Weight of U.S. Sanctions (Nov. 21, 2018)
