China’s entry into Iran will destabilize Middle East, says US Secretary Mike Pompeo

Pompeo had earlier urged US citizens to exercise increased caution while 'traveling to or in any place in China'.

File Photo (Reuters)

Washington: The United States Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo on Sunday (August 9, 2020) targetted the Chinese Communist Party and said that China’s entry into Iran will destabilize the Middle East.

He expressed, "China’s entry into Iran will destabilize the Middle East. Iran remains the world’s largest state sponsor of terror, and to have access to weapons systems and commerce and money flowing from the Chinese Communist Party only compounds that risk for that region."

.@SecPompeo: China’s entry into Iran will destabilize the Middle East. Iran remains the world’s largest state sponsor of terror, and to have access to weapons systems and commerce and money flowing from the Chinese Communist Party only compounds that risk for that region. pic.twitter.com/sWlF0rv5mP

— Department of State (@StateDept) August 9, 2020

Secretary Pompeo added, "The tide is turning. All across the world, the threat from the Chinese Communist Party is becoming clearer and clearer, and nations that are likeminded are beginning to come together to rebalance, to push back against this, to protect our freedom and democracy."

He also said that the world has witnessed more examples of the Chinese Communist Party's efforts to coerce and control its citizens including the arrests of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong and the control Muslim minorities in Xinjiang.

"These actions aren't one-offs," stated Pompeo.

The world has witnessed more examples of the Chinese Communist Party's efforts to coerce and control its citizens including the arrests of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong and the control Muslim minorities in Xinjiang. These actions aren't one-offs. pic.twitter.com/s77vLrJ66w

— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) August 8, 2020

Earlier on August 5, he had said, "We see the CCP’s continuing ambition to control Muslim minorities in Xinjiang. And I commend the Treasury Department for using its Global Magnitsky authorities against human-rights violators there just this past week."

Pompeo has also expressed that they want to see "untrusted Chinese apps" removed from US app stores as they are "significant threats to the personal data of American citizens".

Chinese software companies doing business in the United States could be feeding data directly to the Chinese Communist Party. This represents a true national security risk. President @realDonaldTrump has said: enough. pic.twitter.com/qxWytPvtE7

— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) August 6, 2020

He also talked about Hong Kong and said, "We see it in Hong Kong, where authorities have delayed legislative elections and arrested pro-democracy activists, issued warrants for freedom-loving foreigners, including an American."

Subsequently, Pompeo urged US citizens to exercise increased caution while 'traveling to or in any place in China'.

The US-China relations have soured in the past few months, with the coronavirus outbreak adding more tensions to it.