Tillerson: Trump’s Middle East tour about ‘unity against Iran’

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East is aimed at showing the countries in the region the US’s stance in “unity against Iran,” he told American news channel NBC during an interview on Monday.

“I think there is broad view and broad consensus among all in the region, among all Arab nations… and among others of Iran’s destabilizing activities in the region,” Tillerson said.

“This has to do with standing up in unity against Iran as opposed to any particular religious overtone,” he said of Trump's trip to the region.

“I think the important aspect of this visit that the president is making is to bring a message of unity” among the followers of these religions in the face of the threats posed by ISIS and al-Qaeda," he added.

Trump is set to visit Saudi Arabia next week before stopping at Israel and the Vatican on his first official foreign trip.