Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the press on September 13, 2025, discussing a range of issues related to U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and beyond.
Rubio emphasized the strength of the U.S.-Israeli relationship, stating, "Well, look, the U.S.-Israeli relationship is very strong. It continues to be strong. The President wants this conflict to end. He wants all the hostages out, all 48 of them, living and deceased. Obviously we’re concerned that events last week, he didn’t like the way it went down. He’s expressed that publicly. There’s concern that perhaps that could – we’ll talk about what impact it’s going to have on efforts to get all the hostages back, get rid of Hamas, end this war. That’s the President’s priority."
When asked about possible leverage over Israel regarding ongoing conflicts and hostage situations, Rubio said: "Well, I don’t know about leverage. Look, I mean, our relationship with Israel is very strong; everybody knows that. I wouldn’t call it leverage. I do think we have influence, I think because we’ve worked on so many things together. So we’ll be there to express that and also to express the President’s views, which is that he wants Hamas defeated, he wants the war to end, he wants all 48 hostages home, including those that are deceased, and he wants it all at once. Like, he wants all the hostages now, not five and 10 and piecemeal. And we’ll have to discuss about how the events last week had an impact on the ability to achieve that in short order."
On reports from the Taliban claiming a prisoner swap agreement with the United States had been reached, Rubio responded: "Well, I don’t know – look, our special envoy for the unlawfully detained has been having conversations for a while. I think he went there to explore what’s possible. Obviously it’ll be the President’s decision in terms of any trades or any exchanges. But we most certainly want any Americans or anyone who’s being unlawfully detained to be released. And so he went there to explore what that would look like."
Regarding military operations in Gaza City and future discussions with Israeli officials on this matter: "Yeah, I don’t know if we should get into that. I mean, I’m not going to get into that in the media other than to say the President wants this to be finished with, and 'finished with' meaning 48 hostages released all at once, Hamas no longer a threat so we can move on to the next phase... And part of what we’re going to have to discuss as part of this visit is how the events of last week with Qatar impact that."
Rubio highlighted ongoing cooperation with Qatar: "I met with them – the Vice President and I met with the prime minister yesterday. I know they had dinner with the President last night... They’ve been good partners on a number of things." He noted Qatar's role in facilitating talks between parties involved in regional conflicts.
Asked whether recent actions by Israel might further inflame tensions following international recognition efforts for a Palestinian state by some countries such as those in Europe and Canada (https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/spain-ireland-norway-recognise-palestinian-state-2024-05-22/), Rubio said: "Yeah. Look, I think part of that is... an Israeli reaction to efforts around the world to recognize a Palestinian state... We warned them... that's what would happen... if they went ahead with this." He added further context: "Well, it all began when these groups – when these countries start going out there and doing this recognition of Palestinian state... So we're going talk about that holistically..."
Rubio was also questioned about whether Israel should withdraw its troops from Gaza City during Operation Gideon’s Chariots but stated: "Yeah, we're not talking about that or anything of that nature... We just want to know what comes next..."
He addressed plans for visiting archaeological sites such as City of David during his trip: "Well let me tell you,... That's an archaeological site... It's one of most important archaeological sites in world..."
On developments involving Russian drones entering Polish airspace (https://www.politico.eu/article/poland-says-russian-drone-entered-airspace-for-nearly-40-seconds/), Rubio commented: "Well there's still a lot gathering happening... You saw NATO respond appropriately... The drones were intentionally launched... The question is whether drones were targeted go into Poland specifically..."
Finally Rubio confirmed his intention attend funeral services for Charlie Kirk next weekend if scheduling allows.
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