The US State Department on Friday announced that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Israel next week.
A report last week indicated that the trip would take place on Saturday, but Friday’s statement indicated that Rubio’s visit would begin on Monday.
“Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Israel from March 2-3, 2026. The Secretary will discuss a range of regional priorities including Iran, Lebanon, and ongoing efforts to implement President Trump’s 20-Point Peace Plan for Gaza," said the State Department.
Rubio’s visit comes amid tensions with Iran, as President Trump mulls military strikes on the Islamic Republic over its refusal to stop its nuclear weapons program.
Trump said on Friday he has not yet decided whether to attack Iran and stated he was unhappy with Iran’s behavior, but also said there would be additional talks with the Islamic Republic.
On the possibility of using military force in Iran, Trump said, “I don't want to, but sometimes you have to."
On Wednesday, a day before the US and Iran held another round of talks in Geneva, Rubio said that Iran poses a grave threat to the United States which goes beyond just its nuclear program.
“First and foremost, after their nuclear program was obliterated, they were told not to try to restart it. And here they are, you can see them always trying to rebuild elements of it. They're not enriching right now, but they're trying to get to the point where they ultimately can," he said.
“The other thing I would point you to, however, is that Iran possesses a very large number of ballistic missiles, particularly short-range ballistic missiles that threaten the United States and our bases in the region, and our partners in the region, and all of our bases in the UAE, in Qatar, in Bahrain. And they also possess naval assets that threaten shipping and try to threaten the US Navy," Rubio pointed out.
“So I want everybody to understand that, and beyond just the nuclear program, they possess these conventional weapons that are solely designed to attack America and attack Americans if they so choose to do so," he stated.
(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)