WASHINGTON — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will not run for an open US Senate seat in Kansas this year, according to a person familiar with the top diplomat's decision.

Pompeo met with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday in the US Capitol "where he indicated he will not be running for Senate," a source close to McConnell told AFP early Tuesday.

"Leader McConnell believes Secretary Pompeo is doing an incredible job as Secretary of State and is exactly where the country needs him to be right now," the source added.

McConnell, according to US media reports, had courted the 56-year-old former CIA director for the Senate over the past year, as a way to boost the likelihood of Republicans holding the seat that opened with the announced retirement of Senator Pat Roberts.

The news of Pompeo's decision comes days after a US drone strike killed top Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani.

Pompeo has been a key Trump administration voice articulating Washington's policy toward Iran in the aftermath, saying Sunday that the US would not hesitate to hit back hard against Iran's "kleptocratic regime" if Americans came under attack.

Pompeo is also embroiled in the impeachment scandal that has threatened Trump's presidency, with administration officials testifying that the secretary of state has first-hand knowledge of Trump's pressure campaign against Ukraine. — AFP