Person
Marco Rubio
- US Rep. Ami Bera says Rubio confirmed Washington will not use Taiwan as a bargaining chip with China
Ami Bera, ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific, said in an interview in Tokyo on Oct 24 that he had confirmed with Secretary of State Marco Rubio that US policy of not using Taiwan or arms sales to Taiwan as bargaining chips with China has not changed. He criticised Trump's tariffs and the Middle East war as not coordinated with Congress, saying they had pushed up prices of petrol, food and housing, and said he was confident Democrats would win a House majority in the Nov 3 midterms, in which case he would lead the subcommittee.
Oct 26, 2026 Morning - US intelligence chief Jay Clayton warns Iranian plots against Americans are at a 'late stage'; US cuts staff at 4 Middle East embassies
US Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton said in an unclassified memo to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, copied to CIA Director Ratcliffe, that Iran had increased efforts to target US personnel and that attack plots in the Middle East and some other countries had reached a 'late stage'. Argentina's Clarín reported that the US then reduced staff at four embassies in the Middle East. US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz told the Financial Times the war with Iran could last another year.
Oct 24, 2026 Afternoon - Follow-up: Trump says Musk has restored Ukraine's Starlink access; Zelensky says military Starshield speeds not fully back
US President Trump said on Oct 22 that Elon Musk had restored Ukraine's Starlink access, declining to comment on a Wall Street Journal report that he had phoned Musk to ask for a slowdown to be lifted. Ukrainian President Zelensky said earlier the same day that military-grade Starshield connectivity had not yet fully recovered and that he was waiting for Secretary of State Rubio to reply within about 48 hours. The White House had denied ordering SpaceX to restrict access, and Musk said last week that Starshield is ultimately controlled by the US government.
Oct 23, 2026 Afternoon - Iran security chief says not 'a grain' of enriched uranium will leave; Rubio calls a deal with Tehran 'extremely difficult'
IRNA reported that Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, told Pakistani mediator and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir on the evening of Oct 20 that not 'a grain' of Iran's enriched uranium would leave the country. Al Jazeera reported US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told US media that a peace deal with Iran is 'extremely difficult' and that economic pressure would continue until Tehran stops targeting commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz; Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the strait would stay closed until Washington accepts Iran's conditions, with indirect talks still going through Pakistan and Qatar. Times of Israel reported Netanyahu the same day vowed to topple Iran's regime.
Oct 21, 2026 Afternoon - Zelensky says US missile-warning intelligence 'works now' after Oslo talks; Witkoff and Kushner to meet Putin in St Petersburg
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said after meeting US envoy Steve Witkoff in Oslo on Oct 20 that US early-warning intelligence on Russian ballistic missile strikes 'works now'; US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had earlier called Ukrainian claims that the US was withholding intelligence 'disgraceful'. Norway's prime minister, Finland's president and EU and UK security officials attended, Jared Kushner joined by video because of flu, and Finland's president said the peace plan had made 'real progress' without giving details. The New York Times reported that Witkoff and Kushner plan to meet Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg on Oct 21 and seek the release of a 72-year-old American serving six years and 10 months; Russia's foreign minister said Moscow would make 'no political concessions'.
Oct 21, 2026 Morning - Rubio confirms first Quad leaders' summit in over two years will be held in Manila next month
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed in an interview with Indian television on Tuesday that the leaders' summit of the Quad, grouping the US, Japan, India and Australia, will be held next month in Manila during the ASEAN meetings, the first in more than two years; no date has been set. The summit will take place days before Trump is expected to meet Xi Jinping in Shenzhen. Rubio is visiting India this week, including an event in Mumbai with the US ambassador, in a trip aimed at strengthening economic ties amid strained relations.
Oct 21, 2026 Morning - Israeli police detain 10 settlers after attacks on US photojournalist and European diplomats
Israeli police detained about 10 people in a rare action against West Bank settlers after weekend violence. US photojournalist Heidi Levine said she was knocked down and kicked by masked men while covering the olive harvest near Ramallah on Friday, calling it almost a lynching; doctors said four vertebrae and a rib were fractured and a finger needed surgery. The next day settlers with sticks and iron bars attacked European diplomats and Palestinian olive pickers outside Taybeh, assaulting a French mayor and smashing an official car window. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the Levine attack 'alleged' and the diplomats' account 'unproven'; US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and ambassador Mike Huckabee were among those who criticised the violence.
Oct 20, 2026 Afternoon - Follow-up: Trump says Russia sanctions pause keeps talks alive; Zelensky says US is pushing Ukraine to 'capitulate'
US President Donald Trump announced late Friday a pause of multiple Russia sanctions that were due to take effect in two days; Congress had passed them and he signed them into law in September. On Oct 18 on Truth Social he said he was negotiating an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, did not want to 'stupidly' push Russia from the table, and claimed Zelensky 'doesn't want' the war to end. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it a 60-day pause to assess economic impact; Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev called it a 'truly historic moment'. Zelensky told NBC that siding with Putin would be a 'historic mistake'; the Japan Times reported he said Trump was pressuring Ukraine to capitulate and that a proposal to stop striking Russian diesel facilities in exchange for more Patriot missiles met a US reply that only wanted Ukraine to stop hitting diesel.
Oct 19, 2026 Afternoon