Terrorism not invoked during Pompeo-Imran call, correct readout: Pak to US

In an unusual move, Pakistan on Thursday asked the US to "immediately correct" a readout issued by the State Department in which Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was quoted as saying that he asked Pakistan's new Prime Minister to take "decisive action" against all terrorists operating in the country.

State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a statement that Pompeo, in his talks with Khan, raised the importance of Pakistan taking "decisive action" against all terrorists operating in Pakistan and its vital role in promoting the Afghan peace process.

However, according to the Foreign Office (FO), Pompeo congratulated Khan while discussing other issues of interest and there was no mention of "terrorists operating in Pakistan".

FO spokesman Mohammad Faisal said that "Pakistan takes exception to the factually incorrect statement issued by US State Department on today's phone call between Prime Minister Khan and Secretary Pompeo".

'No complaint received': Pak rejects charge of ill-treating US diplomats

Pakistan has rejected US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's accusation that American diplomats were treated badly by authorities in Islamabad, saying it has not received any specific complaint about it. 

During a briefing to US lawmakers, Pompeo had raised concerns over the "bad treatment" meted out to US diplomats in Pakistan. 

Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal told the media on Friday that it had not received any specific complaints from the US side after the establishment of the mechanism to resolve the issue on the treatment of US diplomats in Pakistan. 

"Diplomats hailing from all countries enjoy diplomatic privileges alike and are provided every possible support as per international laws and norms as well as reciprocity," he said.

Change your behaviour or be crushed by our military might: Pompeo to Iran

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that the US will "crush" Iran with military pressure and by imposing sanctions till the time it changes its behaviour in the Middle East.

According to CNN, many analysts saw this pressurising scheme as a policy of regime change in everything but name.

Pompeo, days after President Donald Trump pulled out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, on Monday said the US will monitor Tehran's regional activities, restrict its influence in the Middle East and ensure that it never acquires a nuclear weapon.

On May 8, US President Donald Trump announced the Washington withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or the Iran nuclear deal which limited the country's uranium enrichment in exchange for sanctions relief.

Calling the accord as an "embarrassment" that was "defective at its core", he also warned of severe consequences if Iran resumes its nuclear programme.

Here's how Donald Trump's game of musical chairs is taking a risky turn

The appointments of Pompeo and Bolton and the removal of McMaster and Tillerson suggest greater military belligerency and war risks but little substantial change.

The appointments of Mike Pompeo and John Bolton to replace less hawkish members of the White House team comes at the same time as threatened new trade tariffs on China’s alleged theft of American intellectual property, a problem recognised within China, on top of tariffs on steel and aluminium, and the strengthening of US-Taiwan relations.

Those moves appear to be classic Trumpian ‘transactionalism’ – a big rhetorical roar designed to open negotiations and force concessions, or the ‘art of the deal’. This was clearly seen with steel and aluminium tariffs, initially on all states yet from which the European Union, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and Argentina, are now exempt pending talks on trade and military spending. The difference, however, is that the latter are US allies while China has been declared a strategic competitor and revisionist power.

The aim seems to be to leverage US market access and military power against other states to shore up the US’ position, to reverse widely perceived ‘decline’ through America First ‘principled realism’ which US President Donald Trump claims will ‘make America great again’.

Trump fires Tillerson: How 'Rexit' rumour became a reality; 10 developments

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday sacked Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, ending his short but tumultuous tenure as the nations chief diplomat. CIA Director Mike Pompeo will take over the top position.

Trump took to Twitter to share the development, saying: "Mike Pompeo, Director of the CIA, will become our new Secretary of State. He will do a fantastic job! Thank you to Rex Tillerson for his service!

Gina Haspel -- Deputy Director at the Central Intelligence Agency -- will succeed Pompeo, becoming the first woman to run the spy agency, if confirmed. Both she and Pompeo would need confirmation by the Senate to take their respective positions. "Gina Haspel will become the new Director of the CIA, and the first woman so chosen. Congratulations to all!" Trump tweeted.

Mike Pompeo: Five facts to know about Trump's new US Secretary of State

Following are the five facts about US Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo, who the President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced will replace Rex Tillerson as US secretary of state.

Mike Pompeo, 54, regularly briefs Donald Trump on intelligence matters, and is considered one of the most hawkish voices on North Korea in Trump’s inner circle.
Pompeo has downplayed the extent of Russia’s intervention in the 2016 US presidential election, saying Moscow has sought to influence American elections for decades. In February, he defended talks he had that month at CIA headquarters with Russian spy chiefs.

Like Trump, Mike Pompeo is an outspoken critic of Iran and has called for scrapping the 2015 deal curbing Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
In October, he said Iran was“mounting a ruthless drive to be the hegemonic power in the region.”