A senior Israeli official on Monday said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to ask U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Michael (Mike) Richard PompeoPutin nominated for Nobel Peace Prize The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - Trump previews SCOTUS nominee as 'totally brilliant' Pompeo accused of stumping for Trump ahead of election MORE to slow the withdrawal of U.S. forces in Syria.

Bloomberg reported that the Israeli official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, made the comments as Netanyahu visits Brazil to attend the inauguration of recently elected Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Pompeo is also scheduled to attend the ceremonies in Brazil.

Netanyahu will reportedly speak with Pompeo about the U.S. strategy in Syria as President Trump Donald John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Trump 'no longer angry' at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE continues to defend his decision to pull American forces out of the war-torn country.

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Trump abruptly announced the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria earlier this month, catching allies off-guard and attracting criticism from U.S. lawmakers in both major political parties.

The president defended the move in a series of tweets on Monday morning, writing that the withdrawal amounted to fulfilling a campaign promise. He added that U.S. troops will "slowly" return home, "while at the same time fighting [Islamic State in Iraq and Syria] ISIS remnants."

Critics of the decision have warned that pulling U.S. troops out of Syria could destabilize the region, allow ISIS to regain strength and benefit adversaries like Russia.

A handful of lawmakers have praised Trump's move, saying the U.S. lacked a sound strategy in Syria.

In his initial withdrawal announcement, Trump said ISIS had been defeated. He has since tempered those comments to state that the extremist group is "mostly" wiped out.

The exact timetable for the troops' withdrawal is unclear. While Trump said Monday that troops will "slowly" return to the U.S., other reports have indicated he plans to "immediately" remove 2,000 troops from northern Syria.