On Sunday, President Donald J. Trump directed me to travel to Saudi Arabia to impress upon Saudi Arabia’s leadership that it is essential to determine what happened to Jamal Khashoggi. Today, I met with King Salman, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Foreign Minister al-Jubeir and did just that.
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took action today against a vast network of businesses providing financial support to the Basij Resistance Force (Basij), a paramilitary force subordinate to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The end of the Cold War forced new thinking among policymakers and analysts about the greatest challenges to U.S. national security. The emergence of al Qaeda, cybercriminals, and other dangerous entities affirmed the threat of nonstate actors.
On October 14, Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan met in Baghdad with newly elected President of Iraq, Dr. Barhim Salih. The Deputy Secretary congratulated newly elected President Salih on his election and emphasized the importance of quickly forming a government in a manner that is responsive to the needs of all Iraqis.
The Secretary’s Special Representative for Syria Engagement, Ambassador James Jeffrey, will travel to Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, October 15–23, for discussions with allies and partners about Syria.
On October 14, Deputy Secretary Sullivan met in Baghdad with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. Deputy Secretary Sullivan congratulated Prime Minister Abadi and all Iraqis on their commitment to the democratic process and their formation of a new government.
On October 15, Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan, accompanied by U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Doug Silliman, met in Erbil with Kurdistan Regional Government's Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani. The Deputy Secretary congratulated the Prime Minister on the recent parliamentary election in the IKR and for their continued leadership on the D-ISIS campaign.
On October 14, accompanied by U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Doug Silliman and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Near Eastern Affairs Andrew Peek, Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan met with Adil Abd al-Mahdi, Prime Minister-designate.
On October 13, Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan met in Manama with representatives from various Bahraini civil and religious organizations for a discussion on tolerance and religious freedom.
Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan will travel to Iraq from October 14 through 16 to visit Baghdad and Erbil. While there, he will meet with and congratulate newly elected Iraqi officials Speaker Halbusi, President Salih, and Prime Minister-Designate Mahdi.