U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivers a post-meeting media briefing in Bahrain following talks with Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers. Secretary Rubio begins with an outline of the U.S. crisis response to the requests from the Venezuela government, the Iran peace process, regional security, U.S.-Italy relations involving Giorgia Meloni, questions regarding JD Vance, and broader diplomatic priorities shaping Washington’s foreign policy agenda. WATCH:
Secretary of State Marco Rubio gives an impromptu press availability and answers questions from members of media in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The Rubio visit comes as the U.S. is working with Gulf Arab partners (GCC) to construct the second phase of an agreement with Iran. The current terms cover a ‘ceasefire’ and the Gulf Cooperation Council play a major role in the regional decisions as partners to the United States.
“We know what [Iran] agreed to do. Now they’ll either do it or they won’t and if they do the process moves forward and if they don’t the president will have some decisions to make.”…
Vice President JD Vance delivers an update today (Mon) from Switzerland, following ceasefire negotiations with Iran aimed at fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz and reducing fighting between Israel and the Iranian-backed militia group Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The talks, mediated by Qatar and Pakistan, began Sunday and stretched into the early hours of Monday. While the high-level discussions have concluded, technical negotiations are expected to continue in Switzerland this week. Vance said the talks did not produce a final peace agreement but did establish diplomatic, deconfliction, security and nuclear-monitoring frameworks needed to pursue a broader and more permanent regional settlement. WATCH:
Questions from the media begin at 3:20 of the video below.
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As VP Vance departs Switzerland, he also gave some brief remarks to the traveling press pool (below).
Perhaps one of the most consequential voices in all of the Middle-East is Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Egypt is the intellectual hub of modern Islam, and a very pragmatic President Sisi has been the major opposition to radical Islam for the past decade.
President Sisi walks a careful position balancing his opposition to the Muslim Brotherhood with pragmatic perspective toward Israel and the friction therein. Egypt has been stable under the leadership of Sisi, but extremist elements have continued to use the Siani region to create instability. President Trump and President Sisi are in alignment on the cause for peace and stability. WATCH:
President Trump holds a bilateral discussion with the President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. During the media questions President Trump noted he would like to read the negotiated memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the U.S, Gulf State Allies and Iran.
President Trump was then asked about DC politicians who are requesting that congress be involved in approving the Iran deal. The reason congress, Mark Levin and Laura Loomer are demanding legislative input is because the American Israeli Political Action Committee (AIPAC) has paid congressional representatives for influence. Israel is hoping to block or change the agreement by leveraging their purchased allies in congress. President Trump notes he did not think about taking the deal to congress, but he likes the idea. WATCH:
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth appears on CBS Face the Nation as Margaret Brennan recovers from Kirsten Welker stealing all her glory in last week Trump’s interview.
Determined to put herself back in the running for Best Dramatic Acting in a Live Recorded Political Event, Mrs. Brennan takes pearl clutching to new levels and reaches deep into her narrative pretending skills to make today the penultimate end of the world media day for the future of all mankind.
Yes America, it’s a serious challenge to the teeth bearing Welker approach last weekend; however, but Brennan takes a deep breath, tries to ignore concerns about soccer games distracting her audience, and rises to the moment. Video and Transcript Below:
[Transcript] – MARGARET BRENNAN: This morning, the Israeli Defense Force conducted strikes in Lebanon on Beirut’s southern suburbs to target the Iranian-backed Hezbollah leadership. The IDF called it retaliation for strikes on Israel. CBS has learned the potential US-Iran truce includes a vague reference to ending the fighting in Lebanon, which may not be enough for Iran’s leaders. And Iran’s failure to cut off support for its proxy force, Hezbollah, may not be enough for America’s partner, Israel. For the latest, we begin this morning with Secretary of Defense Hegseth, who joins us from Tennessee. Mr. Secretary, welcome to Face the Nation.
DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH: Good morning, Margaret. Thank you.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So, did the Hezbollah Israel strikes disrupt any of the plans to have this memorandum signed today. Are we on track for a Sunday signing?
It is a little obvious from the tone of the Truth Social reports, that President Trump is more than a little frustrated that Israel continues strikes into Lebanon which pose a potential disruption to the negotiated terms with Iran.
[TRUTH SOCIAL] – “This morning’s attack on Beirut should not have happened, particularly on a special day when we are so close to a Peace Deal with Iran. Israel has the right to defend itself against threats, but the attack it was responding to was very small and meaningless, nobody was hurt, injured, or killed, and should not disrupt this important process. We are very close to a Deal that will bring peace to the region, including to Lebanon, and all sides should stand down. There should be no more attacks by Israel anywhere in Lebanon, but there should also be no more attacks by any other party, including Hezbollah, against Israel. This could be the beginning of a long and beautiful peace — Let’s not blow it! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
Several DC journalists have reportedly been in contact with President Trump and are sending reports on the X platform about the nature of their discussions with him.
President Trump has announced a deal with Iran that takes away the nuclear option. According to the Truth Social announcement, the signing of the agreement is scheduled for tomorrow (Sunday).
PRESIDENT TRUMP – “Barack Hussein Obama’s Deal with Iran, the JCPOA, was an easy, beautiful, smooth road to a Nuclear Weapon, which Iran would have had six years ago, and would have used long before now. My Agreement with Iran is the exact opposite, A WALL TO NO NUCLEAR WEAPON! In fact, they no longer want a Nuclear Weapon, nor will they have one, either through purchase, development, or any other form of procurement.
The Deal is scheduled to get signed tomorrow, and immediately after it is signed, the Hormuz Strait is OPEN TO ALL. Our relationship with Iran is a much different and better one than previous Administrations have had. Unlike Obama’s Hundreds of Billions of Dollars in payments to them, including 1.7 Billion Dollars in green, cold cash, no money will exchange hands.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivers testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The U.S. Senate as a whole and members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee specifically, have lost millions of dollars wealth for themselves and their families as a result of Rubio eliminating USAID. As a consequence, while they cannot publicly showcase that specific motive for opposition, the committee as a whole is not happy about losing a substantial portion of their stakeholder interests.
The families of all the senate committee members exist inside the think tanks, NGOs, political orgs, PACs and lobbyist companies for various foreign governments. Just like Q-Anon advocate ¹Mike Flynn recently taking a job that pays him $100,000/month to lobby for the Republic of Srpska (aka ‘Serb Republic’, for advice, counsel and introductions), so too all the family members of the senate leverage their DC connections to foreign governments for personal gain.
Thus, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is now being questioned by the very Senators he has defunded. WATCH (prompted):
¹Yes, Michael Flynn signed an agreement within the Trump administration not to lobby for foreign governments; but that was only a paper promise. That’s one of the reasons why it is more than a little silly for people to mention Flynn’s name as a potential DNI nomination.
