US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during the UN General Assembly next week will convene with members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Jordan to discuss a possible response to Iran's "escalatory violence," a senior Trump administration official said during a conference call on Friday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st September, 2019) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during the UN General Assembly next week will convene with members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Jordan to discuss a possible response to Iran's "escalatory violence," a senior Trump administration official said during a conference call on Friday.
"Our overarching concern with Iran's escalatory violence is going to be a theme of the conference and we welcome this opportunity to consult with a broad range of partners and allies on a collective response," the official said. "Secretary Pompeo will be convening a meeting with our MESA [Middle East Strategic Alliance] partners which is the GCC plus Jordan."
Earlier on Friday, the Trump administration announced new sanctions against Iran for its alleged role in the drone attacks against Saudi oil facilities.
The United States sanctioned Iran's Central Bank for allegedly providing billions of dollars to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, its Qods Force and Hezbollah. The United States also sanctioned Iran's National Development Fund, which the US Treasury Department says is a major source of foreign currency and funding for the Qods Force, Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics.
On Saturday, a drone attack on the Aramco oil facilities forced the Saudi Arabian national oil company to shut down its Abqaiq and Khurais facilities, resulting in more than a twofold drop of Saudi Arabia's net oil output and a surge of oil prices worldwide.
Yemen's Ansar Allah movement, whose members are more commonly known as Houthis, claimed responsibility for the attack, but the United States has put the blame on Iran. Tehran has denied the accusations.
