Marco Rubio
- Analysis
- Middle East at war
RIP Project Freedom: Trump’s latest Iran plan didn’t make it past day two
Beyond the question of why Trump let his cabinet secretaries (and top military adviser) waste their time marketing a soon-to-be-jettisoned policy, there is the question of why he pressed pause at all.
- Michael Koziol
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- Updated
- Middle East at war
Trump ‘pauses’ mission to guide ships through Strait of Hormuz after less than 48 hours
The US president’s decision came just hours after Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a news conference talking up the so-called Project Freedom mission, as he declared combat operations were “over”.
- Michael Koziol
Iran speculation spikes as Rubio briefs ‘Gang of Eight’ ahead of Trump speech
The US secretary of state will meet congressional leader just hours before Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address, intensifying speculation about imminent military action.
- Michael Koziol
Europe tells Trump: You have it wrong on our ‘decline’
Europe’s foreign policy chief rebuked US claims that the continent faces “civilisational erasure” and outlined plans for more defence partnerships, including a pact with Australia.
- David Crowe
Iran hints at compromise as US warns a nuclear deal will be ‘very hard to do’
Iranian officials suggest a deal providing economic benefits to both sides could be reached as the US ratchets up pressure on Tehran ahead of further talks this week.
- Analysis
- Foreign relations
Rubio gives Europe a Valentine’s bouquet, but the roses still have thorns
“The United States and Europe, we belong together,” the Secretary of State said, in a speech that struck a different tone to Vice President JD Vance’s one year earlier, but delivered essentially the same message.
- Michael Koziol
- Opinion
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ is a sham designed to give the US ultimate control
The choice facing Anthony Albanese and other world leaders is between international law and a “mafia world order” in which the US plays landlord and arbiter.
- Maher Mughrabi
US won’t govern Venezuela, Rubio says, as Trump threatens Maduro deputy
Venezuela’s interim leader may pay a hefty price “if she doesn’t do what’s right”, Trump warned, and said other territories – including Colombia – may be subject to American intervention.
- Andy Sullivan and Regina Garcia Cano
- Analysis
- Middle East tensions
Trump trapped as tensions between two powerful allies burst into the open
Growing animosity between a crown prince and a powerful sheikh reached a dramatic climax this week, in a development that could move markets and disrupt the world.
- Vivian Nereim
‘Putin wants more’: Amid peace talks, US spies say Russia still aims to reclaim former Soviet bloc
Reports from US intelligence present a starkly different picture from that painted by US President Donald Trump and his Ukraine peace negotiators.
- Jonathan Landay, Erin Banco and John Irish