US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo holds a joint news conference with Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, in Vienna, Austria, Aug. 14, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Lisi Niesner / Pool.

The Secretary of State of the United States, Mike Pompeo, is traveling to the Middle East and Africa starting Sunday, and will meet with Sudanese leaders in order to push for closer relations between Sudan and Israel.

The State Department issued a statement saying that Pompeo will travel to Israel, Sudan, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, including a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where the two will discuss the Iranian threat.

“In Sudan, the Secretary will meet with Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and Sovereign Council Chair General Abdel Fattah el-Burhan to discuss continued US support for the civilian-led transitional government and express support for deepening the Sudan-Israel relationship,” the statement said.

Sudan has sent mixed signals about rapprochement with Israel over the past week, with a foreign ministry spokesman saying an accord was imminent, quickly followed by an official denial and then the dismissal of the spokesman.

Pompeo’s trip follows the historic announcement earlier this month of a normalization agreement between Israel and the UAE.

On Sunday, Israel’s Ambassador to the US, Ron Dermer, expressed optimism about the implications of the deal in the region, telling Al Jazeera, “There are several countries where there are possibilities for peace.”

“I don’t want to say this specific country or not, but there are several countries and we hope that we see another breakthrough very, very soon in the weeks and months ahead,” he added.