International security

In Cairo, Pompeo delivers Trump's vision: Confrontation with Iran

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has launched a scathing broadside against Iran, laying out the Trump administration's vision for the Middle East in a keynote speech at the American University in Cairo.

Pompeo on Thursday called for an end to Middle East rivalries to roll back Tehran's influence and vowed to "expel every last Iranian boot" from Syria.

"It's time for old rivalries to end, for the sake of the greater good of the region," Pompeo said. He is on a Middle East tour to reassure allies about US plans to withdraw troops from Syria.

The United States "will use diplomacy and work with our partners to expel every last Iranian boot" from Syria and will bolster efforts "to bring peace and stability to the long-suffering Syrian people," he said.

Pompeo rebuked the administration of former US President Barack Obama for their "misguided" and "wishful" thinking that diminished the US's role in the region and emboldened its main foe: Iran.