CAIRO, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday that the United States will "use diplomacy" and work with partners to expel the Iranian presence from Syria.

"The nations of the Middle East will never enjoy security, achieve economic stability, or advance the dreams of their peoples if Iran's regime persists on its current course," Pompeo said during a speech at the American University in Cairo.

Pompeo said that the U.S. administration is confronting Iran's "campaigns of destruction and destabilization in the region and around the world," stressing that the U.S. economic sanctions against Iran are among the strongest in history, and will keep getting tougher until Iran changes its policies that threaten the United States and the international community.