Pompeo Heads to Israel for Talks on Land Annexation, Iran

U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo landed in Israel on Wednesday to talk about Iran, economic relations with China and Israel’s plan to annex land the Palestinians claim for a state.

Pompeo arrives the day before Israel swears in its first permanent government in more than a year. The official visit defies the near-total halt to travel that’s accompanied the spread of the new coronavirus, suggesting just how urgent the U.S considers the visit to be. David Friedman, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, didn’t attend because he had “mild upper-respiratory symptoms,” though he tested negative for Covid-19, according to a U.S. Embassy spokeswoman.