New US chief diplomat Pompeo to visit Saudi, Jordan and Israel

New US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plans to travel to Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel over the weekend after a stop in Brussels for a NATO meeting, the State Department said on Thursday.

"No other secretary in recent history has gone on a trip as quickly as he has,” department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters.

In the Middle East, Pompeo "will meet with Saudi, Israeli, and Jordanian leaders to discuss critical regional and bilateral issues," the State Department said in a statement.

Pompeo, who served as CIA director before being nominated to lead the State Department, was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday and sworn in shortly afterwards.

The new US top diplomat, a former Army officer who became a Republican congressman, is regarded as a Trump loyalist with hawkish world views.

Senators in the Republican-controlled chamber voted 57-42 in favour of Pompeo, who had faced resistance from Democrats worried about his reputation for bigoted statements about homosexuality and Islam.

Six Democrats and one independent who normally votes with Democrats backed Pompeo. No Republican voted no.

Pompeo will be forced to quickly address a wide array of other international challenges, including long conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, Chinese expansionism in Asia and Russian assertiveness.

Washington is also working with European allies, including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, on the possibility of toughening an international nuclear agreement with Iran.

Pompeo's had associations with horrific Islamophobes, and he himself has repeatedly made remarks that indicate that he has an antipathy towards Islam.

- James Zogby, AAI

During his confirmation hearing earlier this month, Pompeo told lawmakers that he would "fix" the Iran deal and pledged to soften his hawkish views.

Pompeo confirmed that as CIA director, he had seen no evidence that Iran had not kept its side of the bargain. He said he believes that Tehran would not be able to quickly develop nuclear weapons should the agreement fail.

"I've seen no evidence that they are not in compliance today," he told the committee. "I want to fix this deal. That's the objective."

"If there is no chance to fix it, I'll recommend to the president we do our level best to work with our allies to achieve a better outcome and better deal."

Pompeo was quizzed by lawmakers on 13 April about statements he made when he was a Kansas congressman that have led him to be cast as anti-Muslim.

Pompeo has been called a "bigot" for his association with ACT for America, the largest anti-Muslim organisation in the country, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a watchdog that monitors hate groups.

After the 2013 Boston marathon bombing, Pompeo - who was a congressman at the time - erroneously accused Muslim-American leaders of being "complicit" in militant attacks.

James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute (AAI), a Washington-based think-tank, rued Pompeo's confirmation. He said the new secretary of state does not understand how to build ties and diplomacy, particularly with Muslims.

"Pompeo's had associations with horrific Islamophobes, and he himself has repeatedly made remarks that indicate that he has an antipathy towards Islam," Zogby told Middle East Eye.

He added that he worries about the direction US foreign policy will move in with Pompeo as top diplomat and John Bolton, another hawk accused of Islamophobia, as national security adviser.

"It's a very precarious situation we're heading into," he said.