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Pompeo floats ending Sudan's terror designation amid push for Israel ties

Sudan's leaders have urged the United States to remove their country from a list of state sponsors of terrorism that also includes North Korea, Iran and Syria.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks to reporters following a meeting with members of the UN Security Council about Iran's alleged non-compliance with a nuclear deal and calling for the restoration of sanctions against Iran at United Nations headquarters in New York, August 20, 2020. (Photo by MIKE SEGAR / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MIKE SEGAR/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

As he lobbied Arab countries to normalize ties with Israel, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also discussed dropping Sudan from a list of states that sponsor terrorism during his high-profile visit to Khartoum on Tuesday. 

Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok tweeted that he held “direct and transparent talks” with Pompeo over ending his country’s pariah status. The United States lifted most sanctions on Sudan in 2017, but kept the African nation on its terror blacklist with just three other countries — North Korea, Iran and Syria. 

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