Pompeo to head to Middle East on Tuesday for talks on several issues

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will travel to eight Middle East capitals next week for talks on security expected to focus on Yemen, Syria and Iran, the State Department announced Friday.

Pompeo leaves on January 8 on the eight-day trip to Amman, Cairo, Manama, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Riyadh, Muscat, and finally Kuwait City, according to AFP.

On his second stop in Cairo, Pompeo will deliver a speech on the US “commitment to peace, prosperity, stability, and security in the Middle East,” the department said.

A US official said that Pompeo is to reinforce message in talks with gulf and other allies that the US is "not leaving the Middle East."

He added that the Secretary of state will underscore US support for allies and counter-terrorism cooperation during this visit.

On Syria, the official said that the US has no plans right now to facilitate Arab forces going into the war-torn country, adding that the US does not intend to have an indefinite troop presence in Syria.

On Thursday, the United States issued a pre-emptive warning to Iran against pursuing three planned space rocket launches that it said would violate a UN Security Council resolution because they use ballistic missile technology.

Iran rejected the warning issued by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, saying its space vehicle launches and missile tests were not violations.