Pompeo Says He Will Not Run for US President

Former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo. (AFP file photo)
Former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo. (AFP file photo)
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Pompeo Says He Will Not Run for US President

Former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo. (AFP file photo)
Former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo. (AFP file photo)

Former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has said he would not seek to run for president in 2024.

"(My wife) Susan and I have concluded, after much consideration and prayer, that I will not present myself as a candidate to become President of the United States in the 2024 election," Pompeo wrote on Twitter.

The Republican cited personal reasons, saying "the time is not right for me and my family."

The former soldier and CIA director hinted, however, at a potential future bid for the presidency.

"To those of you this (news) thrilled, know that I'm 59 years old. There remain many more opportunities for which the timing might be more fitting as presidential leadership becomes even more necessary."

Seen as brusque in public and curt with the media, Pompeo vowed to give the US State Department back its "swagger" after being appointed its secretary by then-president Donald Trump.

He managed to stay consistently in Trump's good graces, loyally defending his boss on camera and to foreign allies.

Despite his elite education at West Point and Harvard Law, Pompeo emerged from obscurity as a businessman in Kansas when he was elected to Congress in the right-wing Tea Party wave of 2010.

Trump himself and his former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley have also entered the Republican contest for the nomination.

US President Joe Biden inched closer to formally launching his 2024 bid on Friday, saying to reporters "I told you my plan is to run again."

"I've already made that calculus. We'll announce it relatively soon," Biden said at the end of his visit to Ireland.



27 Inmates are Still at Large Following an Israeli Airstrike during the 12-day War, Iran says

In this photo taken Tuesday, June 24, 2025, rescuers search through the rubble of a damaged section of Evin Prison following an Israeli strike the day before, in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Mostafa Roudaki/Mizan News Agency)
In this photo taken Tuesday, June 24, 2025, rescuers search through the rubble of a damaged section of Evin Prison following an Israeli strike the day before, in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Mostafa Roudaki/Mizan News Agency)
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27 Inmates are Still at Large Following an Israeli Airstrike during the 12-day War, Iran says

In this photo taken Tuesday, June 24, 2025, rescuers search through the rubble of a damaged section of Evin Prison following an Israeli strike the day before, in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Mostafa Roudaki/Mizan News Agency)
In this photo taken Tuesday, June 24, 2025, rescuers search through the rubble of a damaged section of Evin Prison following an Israeli strike the day before, in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Mostafa Roudaki/Mizan News Agency)

Iran said Tuesday 27 inmates were still at large after an Israeli airstrike last month targeted Evin prison in the north of the capital, Tehran, local media reported.

The airstrikes were part of Israel’s 12-day bombardment of Iran that killed about 1,100 people. while 28 were left dead in Israel in Iranian retaliatory strikes, The Associated Press said.

Judiciary’s news website, Mizanonline, quoted spokesman Asghar Jahangir as saying 75 prisoners had escaped following the strike, of which 48 were either recaptured or voluntarily returned. He said authorities will detain the others if they don't hand themselves over.

Jahangir said the escapees were prisoners doing time for minor offenses.

Iranian officials said the Israeli strike killed 71 people, but local media reported earlier in July that 80 were left dead at the time, including prison staff, soldiers, inmates and visiting family members. Authorities also said five inmates died.

It’s unclear why Israel targeted the prison. The Israeli Defense Ministry had said that 50 aircraft dropped 100 munitions on military targets “based on high-quality and accurate intelligence from the Intelligence Branch.”

The New York-based Center for Human Rights had criticized Israel for striking the prison, seen as a symbol of repression of any opposition, saying it violated the principle of distinction between civilian and military targets.