TEL AVIV (AFP) - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday (Aug 25) left Israel for Sudan, the next stop on his regional tour, on the first official direct flight from Tel Aviv to Khartoum.

Video released by the United States embassy in Jerusalem showed an official greeting Mr Pompeo as he walked up the steps into his plane, saying, "You are now on a historic flight", and the top US diplomat nodding in agreement.

Israel and Sudan do not have diplomatic relations and, barring a last-minute route change, it would be the first such flight, US officials said.