9:00 a.m. LOCAL Secretary Rubio holds a meet and greet with employees and families of U.S. Mission Israel in Jerusalem, Israel. (CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)
10:00 a.m. LOCAL Secretary Rubio meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, Israel. (CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)
12:35 p.m. LOCAL Secretary Rubio and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu deliver joint statements to the press in Jerusalem, Israel. (POOLED PRESS COVERAGE)
12:45 p.m. LOCAL Secretary Rubio meets with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar in Jerusalem, Israel. (CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)
1:45 p.m. LOCAL Secretary Rubio meets with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem, Israel. (POOLED CAMERA SPRAY AT TOP)
2:45 p.m. LOCAL Secretary Rubio participates in a tour and wreath-laying ceremony at Yad Vashem with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar in Jerusalem, Israel. (POOLED PRESS COVERAGE)
4:30 p.m. LOCAL Secretary Rubio meets with Opposition Leader Yair Lapid in Jerusalem, Israel. (POOLED PRESS COVERAGE)
Lithuania National Day
02/16/2025
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On behalf of the United States of America, I extend heartfelt congratulations to the people of Lithuania as you celebrate your independence.
Lithuania is our trusted partner and stalwart Ally, and a beacon of freedom. I commend Lithuania’s dedication to advancing our shared priorities and your strong stance against authoritarian regimes, particularly China and Russia.
We applaud Lithuania’s commitment to making both our countries more secure. The decision to significantly increase defense spending demonstrates your dedication to sharing the burden of our collective defense. I also want to thank you for hosting U.S. rotational forces.
The U.S.-Lithuania economic relationship is also flourishing, with trade and investment rising to new heights. Prosperity and security go hand in hand, and our relationship offers a powerful example of this dynamism. As a steadfast Ally, Lithuania plays a crucial role in confronting global challenges and upholding our shared values.
Congratulations once again. I extend my warmest wishes for health, prosperity, and security to all Lithuanians.
Lithuania National Day
02/16/2025
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On behalf of the United States of America, I extend heartfelt congratulations to the people of Lithuania as you celebrate your independence.
Lithuania is our trusted partner and stalwart Ally, and a beacon of freedom. I commend Lithuania’s dedication to advancing our shared priorities and your strong stance against authoritarian regimes, particularly China and Russia.
We applaud Lithuania’s commitment to making both our countries more secure. The decision to significantly increase defense spending demonstrates your dedication to sharing the burden of our collective defense. I also want to thank you for hosting U.S. rotational forces.
The U.S.-Lithuania economic relationship is also flourishing, with trade and investment rising to new heights. Prosperity and security go hand in hand, and our relationship offers a powerful example of this dynamism. As a steadfast Ally, Lithuania plays a crucial role in confronting global challenges and upholding our shared values.
Congratulations once again. I extend my warmest wishes for health, prosperity, and security to all Lithuanians.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
02/16/2025
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PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: Secretary Rubio, my dear friend Marco, it’s great to welcome you in Jerusalem with your delegation. It’s great to welcome you in Jerusalem as Secretary of State of the United States. I have to say that this visit comes in the wake of a historic visit to Washington. I said and I am going to repeat it again because it’s so true: President Trump is the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House. And the visit in Washington reflected that in every way, and your visit here reflects it in every way.
Throughout your political career you’ve been a great supporter of Israel and a great champion of the U.S.-Israel alliance. I have no doubt that your unwavering support will continue during your tenure as Secretary of State, and I also have no doubt that you will be a voice of clarity and courage on the world stage for the values that we in Israel and you in America hold dear, the values of freedom for all those who cherish liberty. You’re already doing that and I want to tell that it’s very loud and clear here and everywhere else.
Today, Secretary Rubio and I had a very productive discussion with our staffs on a number of issues. None of them are more important than Iran. Israel and America stand shoulder-to-shoulder in countering the threat of Iran. We agreed that the ayatollahs must not have nuclear weapons, and we also agreed that Iran’s aggression in the region has to be rolled back. Over the last 16 months, Israel has dealt a mighty blow to Iran’s terror axis. Under the strong leadership of President Trump and with your unflinching support, I have no doubt that we can and will finish the job.
We also spoke a great deal about Gaza. I thanked Secretary Rubio for President Trump’s assistance in helping us secure the release of another three hostages yesterday. These are hostages that Hamas refused to support only a few days – or to release only a few days earlier. And I also thanked him for America’s unequivocal backing for Israel’s policy in Gaza in moving forward.
I want to assure everyone who is now listening to us: President Trump and I are working in full cooperation and coordination between us. We have a common strategy and we can’t always share the details of this strategy with the public, including when the gates of Hell would be opened, as they surely will if all our hostages are not released, until the last one of them.
Israel is determined to achieve all the war objectives we set after the horrific attack on October 7th, the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust. We will eliminate Hamas’s military capability and its political rule in Gaza. We will bring all our hostages home and we will ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel. The unequivocal support of the United States on Gaza will help us achieve these objectives faster and set us on a path for a different future. Secretary Rubio and I discussed President Trump’s bold vision for Gaza, for Gaza’s future, how we can work together to ensure that that future becomes a reality.
We also discussed the situation in Syria after the collapse of Assad’s regime, a collapse that was made possible by Israel’s weakening of Iran’s terror axis, especially the weakening of Hizballah and the removal of Nasrallah.
For over a decade before October 7th, Israel acted to prevent Iran from developing new terror fronts, new terror fronts against us in Syria, right off to the Golan Heights and deeper in Syria. And we conducted hundreds of airstrikes, perhaps a thousand, in order to prevent it, and we did. Now, if any other force in Syria today believes that Israel will permit other hostile forces to use Syria as a base of operations against us, they are gravely mistaken. Israel will act to prevent any threat from emerging near our border in southwest Syria.
The Secretary and I discussed Lebanon as well. Israel is committed to the ceasefire understandings that were reached in November. We expect the Government of Lebanon to be equally committed to their fulfilment. The scenes we saw this weekend in Beirut, our beautiful forces being attacked by Hizballah, this was not encouraging. The two UN resolutions that everyone refers to, 1559, 1709 – 1701, well, they must be fully implemented. Hizballah must be disarmed and Israel would prefer that the Lebanese Army do that job, but no one should doubt that Israel will do what it has to do to enforce the understandings of the ceasefire and defend our security.
The Secretary and I also discussed how the many international institutions have been hijacked and turned into anti-American and anti-Israeli forums. We see that in the UN General Assembly, in the UN Human Rights Commission, where anti-Americanism is rampant and more resolutions are passed about Israel than any – the rest of the world combined. And we see it especially in the lawfare that is being waged against America and Israel at the ICC, the ICJ, and elsewhere. The ICC has outrageously libeled Israel and issued arrest warrants based on utter lies.
Like America, Israel is not subject to the jurisdiction of the ICC and does not accept the court’s authority. Israel commends President Trump and his administration for restoring his executive order against the ICC and for moving quickly to sanction ICC officials. The Secretary and I discussed working together to formulate a common strategy to deal with the threat of lawfare and neutralizing this threat once and for all.
So these are some of the issues we discussed today. Believe it or not there were more, many more. We can say that the Middle East today has many opportunities, many challenges, and we think we can realize the opportunities and also meet the challenges. And I have no doubt that working together America and Israel will overcome the challenges and seize the opportunities. I have to say that I am absolutely confident that under President Trump’s leadership and working together with you, Secretary Rubio, Marco, the best days of our lives are still yet to come.
Welcome to Jerusalem. Welcome, Marco.
SECRETARY RUBIO: Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister. It is an honor to be back here. I’ve been here many times before as an American visiting and then as a member of the United States Senate but now for the first time as Secretary of State of the United States, and it’s an honor to be here. And it’s an honor to serve in this role on behalf of President Donald Trump, who, as you’ve accurately stated, Mr. Prime Minister, is a tremendous friend of Israel. There has been no stronger ally for Israel in the White House than President Trump.
He is also a man that speaks clearly and unambiguously and makes clear his views on issues. The first he’s made clear – and as you pointed out and – the hostages need to come home. They need to be released. And you worked in very close coordination with him. He’s working in very close coordination but with the prime minister and his government in ensuring that that happens. That must happen. It’s not optional. And that’s a goal we share in common and that is something we’ll work on very closely together.
The President has also been very bold about his view of what the future for Gaza should be – not the same tired ideas of the past but something that’s bold and something that frankly took courage and vision in order to outline. And it may have shocked and surprised many, but what cannot continue is the same cycle where we will repeat over and over again and wind up in the exact same place.
Related to that, the President has been very clear: Hamas cannot continue as a military or government force. And frankly, as long as it stands as a force that can govern or as a force that can administer or as a force that can threaten by use of violence, peace becomes impossible. They must be eliminated. It must be eradicated.
On the broader issues that we discussed as well is the questions in Syria. And while the fall of Assad is certainly promising and important, Syria replacing one destabilizing force for another is not a positive development. And that is something that we will watch very carefully as we seek to craft our own strategy with regards to how to approach the events in Syria.
In the case of Lebanon, our goals are aligned and the same: a strong Lebanese state that can take on and disarm Hizballah.
The common theme in all of these challenges is Iran. It is the single greatest source of instability in the region. Behind every terrorist group, behind every act of violence, behind every destabilizing activity, behind everything that threatens peace and stability for the millions of people who call this region home, is Iran. And by Iran I mean the ayatollahs. By Iran I mean its regime – a regime, by the way, its people don’t support. The people of Iran are victims of that regime.
And so I think it’s important to constantly point that whether we talk about Hamas or we talk about Hizballah or we talk about violence in the West Bank or we talk about destabilization of Syria or we talk about any of these issues, the militias in Iraq – they all have behind them one common theme – Iran. And that must be addressed and there can never be a nuclear Iran – a nuclear Iran that could then hold itself immune from pressure and from action. That can never happen. The President has been clear about that as well.
And so I close where I began by reiterating our strong support for our allies, very close allies and partners here in Israel, to the people of this great country for whom we have tremendous love and respect, for everything you’re facing, have faced, and continue to face. It is an extraordinary story of bravery – a nation founded in the ashes and in the aftermath of a horrifying crime against humanity – that’s stood from its very inception, from the very day of its birth, against threats from every angle and every corner, and has served as an example to the world of a pluralistic society, a free enterprise democracy, and one that if there were more Israels in the Middle East, more countries like that, the world would be a safer and a better place.
And this is what we hope for the region and for our planet – a nation that’s always sought peace that will not allow itself to be intimidated or destroyed by its enemies. And on that front, you can always count on us as long as I am in this position and President Trump is in the White House. So thank you.
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: Thank you.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
02/16/2025
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PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: Secretary Rubio, my dear friend Marco, it’s great to welcome you in Jerusalem with your delegation. It’s great to welcome you in Jerusalem as Secretary of State of the United States. I have to say that this visit comes in the wake of a historic visit to Washington. I said and I am going to repeat it again because it’s so true: President Trump is the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House. And the visit in Washington reflected that in every way, and your visit here reflects it in every way.
Throughout your political career you’ve been a great supporter of Israel and a great champion of the U.S.-Israel alliance. I have no doubt that your unwavering support will continue during your tenure as Secretary of State, and I also have no doubt that you will be a voice of clarity and courage on the world stage for the values that we in Israel and you in America hold dear, the values of freedom for all those who cherish liberty. You’re already doing that and I want to tell that it’s very loud and clear here and everywhere else.
Today, Secretary Rubio and I had a very productive discussion with our staffs on a number of issues. None of them are more important than Iran. Israel and America stand shoulder-to-shoulder in countering the threat of Iran. We agreed that the ayatollahs must not have nuclear weapons, and we also agreed that Iran’s aggression in the region has to be rolled back. Over the last 16 months, Israel has dealt a mighty blow to Iran’s terror axis. Under the strong leadership of President Trump and with your unflinching support, I have no doubt that we can and will finish the job.
We also spoke a great deal about Gaza. I thanked Secretary Rubio for President Trump’s assistance in helping us secure the release of another three hostages yesterday. These are hostages that Hamas refused to support only a few days – or to release only a few days earlier. And I also thanked him for America’s unequivocal backing for Israel’s policy in Gaza in moving forward.
I want to assure everyone who is now listening to us: President Trump and I are working in full cooperation and coordination between us. We have a common strategy and we can’t always share the details of this strategy with the public, including when the gates of Hell would be opened, as they surely will if all our hostages are not released, until the last one of them.
Israel is determined to achieve all the war objectives we set after the horrific attack on October 7th, the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust. We will eliminate Hamas’s military capability and its political rule in Gaza. We will bring all our hostages home and we will ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel. The unequivocal support of the United States on Gaza will help us achieve these objectives faster and set us on a path for a different future. Secretary Rubio and I discussed President Trump’s bold vision for Gaza, for Gaza’s future, how we can work together to ensure that that future becomes a reality.
We also discussed the situation in Syria after the collapse of Assad’s regime, a collapse that was made possible by Israel’s weakening of Iran’s terror axis, especially the weakening of Hizballah and the removal of Nasrallah.
For over a decade before October 7th, Israel acted to prevent Iran from developing new terror fronts, new terror fronts against us in Syria, right off to the Golan Heights and deeper in Syria. And we conducted hundreds of airstrikes, perhaps a thousand, in order to prevent it, and we did. Now, if any other force in Syria today believes that Israel will permit other hostile forces to use Syria as a base of operations against us, they are gravely mistaken. Israel will act to prevent any threat from emerging near our border in southwest Syria.
The Secretary and I discussed Lebanon as well. Israel is committed to the ceasefire understandings that were reached in November. We expect the Government of Lebanon to be equally committed to their fulfilment. The scenes we saw this weekend in Beirut, our beautiful forces being attacked by Hizballah, this was not encouraging. The two UN resolutions that everyone refers to, 1559, 1709 – 1701, well, they must be fully implemented. Hizballah must be disarmed and Israel would prefer that the Lebanese Army do that job, but no one should doubt that Israel will do what it has to do to enforce the understandings of the ceasefire and defend our security.
The Secretary and I also discussed how the many international institutions have been hijacked and turned into anti-American and anti-Israeli forums. We see that in the UN General Assembly, in the UN Human Rights Commission, where anti-Americanism is rampant and more resolutions are passed about Israel than any – the rest of the world combined. And we see it especially in the lawfare that is being waged against America and Israel at the ICC, the ICJ, and elsewhere. The ICC has outrageously libeled Israel and issued arrest warrants based on utter lies.
Like America, Israel is not subject to the jurisdiction of the ICC and does not accept the court’s authority. Israel commends President Trump and his administration for restoring his executive order against the ICC and for moving quickly to sanction ICC officials. The Secretary and I discussed working together to formulate a common strategy to deal with the threat of lawfare and neutralizing this threat once and for all.
So these are some of the issues we discussed today. Believe it or not there were more, many more. We can say that the Middle East today has many opportunities, many challenges, and we think we can realize the opportunities and also meet the challenges. And I have no doubt that working together America and Israel will overcome the challenges and seize the opportunities. I have to say that I am absolutely confident that under President Trump’s leadership and working together with you, Secretary Rubio, Marco, the best days of our lives are still yet to come.
Welcome to Jerusalem. Welcome, Marco.
SECRETARY RUBIO: Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister. It is an honor to be back here. I’ve been here many times before as an American visiting and then as a member of the United States Senate but now for the first time as Secretary of State of the United States, and it’s an honor to be here. And it’s an honor to serve in this role on behalf of President Donald Trump, who, as you’ve accurately stated, Mr. Prime Minister, is a tremendous friend of Israel. There has been no stronger ally for Israel in the White House than President Trump.
He is also a man that speaks clearly and unambiguously and makes clear his views on issues. The first he’s made clear – and as you pointed out and – the hostages need to come home. They need to be released. And you worked in very close coordination with him. He’s working in very close coordination but with the prime minister and his government in ensuring that that happens. That must happen. It’s not optional. And that’s a goal we share in common and that is something we’ll work on very closely together.
The President has also been very bold about his view of what the future for Gaza should be – not the same tired ideas of the past but something that’s bold and something that frankly took courage and vision in order to outline. And it may have shocked and surprised many, but what cannot continue is the same cycle where we will repeat over and over again and wind up in the exact same place.
Related to that, the President has been very clear: Hamas cannot continue as a military or government force. And frankly, as long as it stands as a force that can govern or as a force that can administer or as a force that can threaten by use of violence, peace becomes impossible. They must be eliminated. It must be eradicated.
On the broader issues that we discussed as well is the questions in Syria. And while the fall of Assad is certainly promising and important, Syria replacing one destabilizing force for another is not a positive development. And that is something that we will watch very carefully as we seek to craft our own strategy with regards to how to approach the events in Syria.
In the case of Lebanon, our goals are aligned and the same: a strong Lebanese state that can take on and disarm Hizballah.
The common theme in all of these challenges is Iran. It is the single greatest source of instability in the region. Behind every terrorist group, behind every act of violence, behind every destabilizing activity, behind everything that threatens peace and stability for the millions of people who call this region home, is Iran. And by Iran I mean the ayatollahs. By Iran I mean its regime – a regime, by the way, its people don’t support. The people of Iran are victims of that regime.
And so I think it’s important to constantly point that whether we talk about Hamas or we talk about Hizballah or we talk about violence in the West Bank or we talk about destabilization of Syria or we talk about any of these issues, the militias in Iraq – they all have behind them one common theme – Iran. And that must be addressed and there can never be a nuclear Iran – a nuclear Iran that could then hold itself immune from pressure and from action. That can never happen. The President has been clear about that as well.
And so I close where I began by reiterating our strong support for our allies, very close allies and partners here in Israel, to the people of this great country for whom we have tremendous love and respect, for everything you’re facing, have faced, and continue to face. It is an extraordinary story of bravery – a nation founded in the ashes and in the aftermath of a horrifying crime against humanity – that’s stood from its very inception, from the very day of its birth, against threats from every angle and every corner, and has served as an example to the world of a pluralistic society, a free enterprise democracy, and one that if there were more Israels in the Middle East, more countries like that, the world would be a safer and a better place.
And this is what we hope for the region and for our planet – a nation that’s always sought peace that will not allow itself to be intimidated or destroyed by its enemies. And on that front, you can always count on us as long as I am in this position and President Trump is in the White House. So thank you.
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: Thank you.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio And Israeli President Isaac Herzog After Their Meeting
02/16/2025
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PRESIDENT HERZOG: So welcome to Israel. Shalom, our dear friend, Secretary of State Marco Rubio. We are honored to have you in our midst, in our country. You have no idea how much it means to us in these challenging days and times that our nation has gone through and endured since October 7th. We are grateful to President Donald Trump for his friendship and solidarity with the people of Israel and the state of Israel, and we are grateful for his direct involvement in bringing back our hostages.
On October 7th, Israelis down there in the border from all facets of life went through hell – were abducted, kidnapped, beaten, raped, burned, and killed in cold-blooded murders. And we have gone out of that enormous challenge and pain and crisis to change the reality. The entire nation of Israel went to fight, and we have overcome our enemies. We always seek peace and we always wanted peace in our region, and I believe that your visit here – as well as your capabilities of changing and influencing our region – are enormous and can bring great hope to our people and the people of the region at large.
Most importantly, we are – we are screaming, aching, praying, working tirelessly to bring each and every one of our hostages back home. This is our biggest hope as a nation and as individuals, and I want to thank you for all this effort that you are carrying on this on behalf of this holy nation. Thank you very much.
SECRETARY RUBIO: Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you for greeting me, and it’s an honor to be back as the Secretary of State not even four weeks into the job. I wanted this one to be one of our first visits because of the issues before us and also because of the friendship and the solidarity between our two countries.
On the issue that you mentioned about the hostages, just know, on behalf of the President, I can tell you he is strongly and deeply committed to the goal of every single hostage returning home – every single one – and not resting, not being silent, not forgetting until all of them are home. We work in very close coordination with the government here, as you know, to make that a reality, and that remains a very strong priority.
And beyond that are the other challenges that we’ve all discussed and we’re all aware of, and then the opportunities as well with what’s happened in Lebanon most recently and the hope of finding a situation that provides not just enduring security but allows what are still 60-, 70,000 of your countrymen who have not been able to return to their homes up north and how critical it is for that security as well for that to happen.
And I would make the broader point – I made it earlier with the prime minister in our appearance before the media there – at the core of all of these challenges, whether it’s Hizballah or Hamas or the terrorist groups that strike from – when Assad was in Syria and what we see even confronting America in Iraq, the Houthis, there’s one thing. What’s behind all of it? Iran. Iran. And by Iran I mean the regime.
I think it’s always important to remind people that the people of Iran, which is an ancient and proud culture, is controlled by radical clerics who have driven that nation in the wrong direction and have isolated it from the world, but more importantly have created the single greatest source of destabilization and sponsor of terrorism and violence on the planet. And that we cannot forget. That – were it not for the regime in Tehran, many of these issues that we are confronting now would not be the same, and we cannot lose sight of that reality. It remains a fundamental challenge that we have before us.
But just know that there has been no stronger supporter of the state of Israel in the White House than President Trump, who I am honored to serve as his Secretary of State. And we wanted to come here to reaffirm those bonds and to ensure that you knew that we were going to be here to continue to work hand-in-hand until all these goals we share in common are achieved.
PRESIDENT HERZOG: Thank you. Bless you. Thank you very much.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio And Israeli President Isaac Herzog After Their Meeting
02/16/2025
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PRESIDENT HERZOG: So welcome to Israel. Shalom, our dear friend, Secretary of State Marco Rubio. We are honored to have you in our midst, in our country. You have no idea how much it means to us in these challenging days and times that our nation has gone through and endured since October 7th. We are grateful to President Donald Trump for his friendship and solidarity with the people of Israel and the state of Israel, and we are grateful for his direct involvement in bringing back our hostages.
On October 7th, Israelis down there in the border from all facets of life went through hell – were abducted, kidnapped, beaten, raped, burned, and killed in cold-blooded murders. And we have gone out of that enormous challenge and pain and crisis to change the reality. The entire nation of Israel went to fight, and we have overcome our enemies. We always seek peace and we always wanted peace in our region, and I believe that your visit here – as well as your capabilities of changing and influencing our region – are enormous and can bring great hope to our people and the people of the region at large.
Most importantly, we are – we are screaming, aching, praying, working tirelessly to bring each and every one of our hostages back home. This is our biggest hope as a nation and as individuals, and I want to thank you for all this effort that you are carrying on this on behalf of this holy nation. Thank you very much.
SECRETARY RUBIO: Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you for greeting me, and it’s an honor to be back as the Secretary of State not even four weeks into the job. I wanted this one to be one of our first visits because of the issues before us and also because of the friendship and the solidarity between our two countries.
On the issue that you mentioned about the hostages, just know, on behalf of the President, I can tell you he is strongly and deeply committed to the goal of every single hostage returning home – every single one – and not resting, not being silent, not forgetting until all of them are home. We work in very close coordination with the government here, as you know, to make that a reality, and that remains a very strong priority.
And beyond that are the other challenges that we’ve all discussed and we’re all aware of, and then the opportunities as well with what’s happened in Lebanon most recently and the hope of finding a situation that provides not just enduring security but allows what are still 60-, 70,000 of your countrymen who have not been able to return to their homes up north and how critical it is for that security as well for that to happen.
And I would make the broader point – I made it earlier with the prime minister in our appearance before the media there – at the core of all of these challenges, whether it’s Hizballah or Hamas or the terrorist groups that strike from – when Assad was in Syria and what we see even confronting America in Iraq, the Houthis, there’s one thing. What’s behind all of it? Iran. Iran. And by Iran I mean the regime.
I think it’s always important to remind people that the people of Iran, which is an ancient and proud culture, is controlled by radical clerics who have driven that nation in the wrong direction and have isolated it from the world, but more importantly have created the single greatest source of destabilization and sponsor of terrorism and violence on the planet. And that we cannot forget. That – were it not for the regime in Tehran, many of these issues that we are confronting now would not be the same, and we cannot lose sight of that reality. It remains a fundamental challenge that we have before us.
But just know that there has been no stronger supporter of the state of Israel in the White House than President Trump, who I am honored to serve as his Secretary of State. And we wanted to come here to reaffirm those bonds and to ensure that you knew that we were going to be here to continue to work hand-in-hand until all these goals we share in common are achieved.
PRESIDENT HERZOG: Thank you. Bless you. Thank you very much.
Release of Sagui Dekel Chen and Hostages in Gaza
02/16/2025
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President Trump keeps delivering on his promise to bring Americans home. Sagui Dekel Chen and two other hostages have been released by Hamas in Gaza after nearly 500 days of horrific captivity. I am grateful that they are back home and safe with their families. Hamas still holds 73 hostages including New Jersey native Edan Alexander and the remains of four Americans murdered in Gaza. They must ALL come home NOW. The fact that these terrorists continue to hold hostages and even dead bodies reflects their sick depravity. I call on our partners to help impress upon Hamas’ leaders that they are playing with fire.
President Trump keeps delivering on his promise to bring Americans home. Sagui Dekel Chen and two other hostages have been released by Hamas in Gaza after nearly 500 days of horrific captivity. I am grateful that they are back home and safe with their families. Hamas still holds 73 hostages including New Jersey native Edan Alexander and the remains of four Americans murdered in Gaza. They must ALL come home NOW. The fact that these terrorists continue to hold hostages and even dead bodies reflects their sick depravity. I call on our partners to help impress upon Hamas’ leaders that they are playing with fire.
Secretary Marco Rubio With Margaret Brennan of CBS’s Face the Nation
Interview
February 16, 2025
QUESTION: Good morning and welcome to Face the Nation. We want to begin today with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is in Jerusalem on the second leg of his trip through Europe and the Middle East.
Mr. Secretary, I know it’s the evening hours there and you’ve had a long day. We appreciate your time. You’ve got quite a busy schedule. You met earlier with Prime Minister Netanyahu. He said he’s lockstep with the Trump Administration but he can’t share details on, quote, “when the Gates of Hell will be opened…if all our hostages are not released.”
Did he tell you he wants to keep talks going to get to phase two of this hostage deal?
SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, I think we share a common goal. We want to see every hostage released. Frankly, I think – and the President has said this – we want to see them out as soon as we possibly can. And certainly the world has watched these images of people, and it’s just heartbreaking to remember that some of them have been now almost two years there. It’s a horrifying situation.
So we coordinate and work very close with them. We share the goal that every hostage needs to come home, every single one, without delay. Obviously, the – there are details of how we’re pursuing that and coordinating that we’re not going to share publicly because we don’t want to endanger the hostages and we don’t want to endanger this process. But suffice it to say that if it was up to us, every one of these hostages would be home right now, and we want it to happen as soon as possible.
QUESTION: Okay. So the deal stands?
SECRETARY RUBIO: Again, we want every hostage out as soon as possible.
QUESTION: Okay.
SECRETARY RUBIO: We – and we want to see them home. There are some that are supposed to – under the deal, there are some that are supposed to be released coming up next weekend. We expect that to happen. But we’d like to see them all come out. We’re not going to – we are not in favor of waiting weeks and weeks. Now, that may be the process that’s in place because of the deal, but we would like to see them all out as soon as possible, and we continue to coordinate. And that’s what we’d like to see as the outcome. Who wouldn’t want all these hostages to be home and with their families?
QUESTION: Yeah, understood. I want to ask you about Iran as well. President Trump has said he wants a diplomatic deal with Iran. Are you reaching out to them? And alongside that, does the U.S. support a preemptive strike by Israel on Iran to take out its nuclear program?
SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, first of all, Israel will always have to act in what they believe is their national interest and their national defense, and so I’m not going to speak about whatever strategies they may on this or any other topic.
I will say that we don’t have any outreach from Iran. We haven’t seen any. And ultimately, we’ve seen in the past that efforts that Iran has undertaken diplomatically have been only about how to extend the timeframe but continue to enrich and – in addition to sponsor terrorism, in addition to build these long-range weapons, in addition to sow instability throughout the region. But let’s be clear: There has been zero outreach or interest to date from Iran about any negotiated deal.
Ideally, yeah, I would love to wake up one day and hear the news that Iran has decided not to pursue a nuclear weapon, not to sponsor terrorism, and re-engage in the world as a normal government. We’ve had no indication of any of that – not just now but for 30 years.
QUESTION: So you head from Israel to Saudi Arabia next. I know you’ll be talking about Gaza. But we’ve also learned that Saudi Arabia is trying to facilitate this diplomacy with Russia about Ukraine. Which Russian officials do you expect to be meeting with, and what will the focus of your talks there be? Do you actually believe Vladimir Putin is ready to negotiate and make concessions?
SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, here’s what I know. I know President Trump spoke to Vladimir Putin last week and in it Vladimir Putin expressed his interest in peace, and the President expressed his desire to see an end to this conflict in a way that was enduring and that protected Ukrainian sovereignty and that was an enduring peace – not that we’re going to have another invasion in three or four years. That’s a good call. Now, obviously, it has to be followed up by action.
So the next few weeks and days will determine whether it’s serious or not. Ultimately, one phone call does not make peace. One phone call does not solve a war as complex as this one. But I can tell you that Donald Trump is the only leader in the world that could potentially begin that process. Other leaders have tried; they have not been able to do so. When he ran in his campaign and he was elected as President, one of his promises was he would work to bring an end to this conflict in a way that’s sustainable and fair.
And obviously, this is the first step in that process, but we have a long ways to go. Again, one call doesn’t make it. One meeting wouldn’t make it. There’s a lot of work to be done. But I thought it has – even the longest journey begins with a first step. So we’ll see what happens from here, hopefully good things.
QUESTION: Who will you be meeting with?
SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, nothing’s been finalized yet. I was scheduled to be in Saudi Arabia anyways. We announced that trip a week ago, a week and a half ago. So ultimately, look, if at any point in time there’s an opportunity to continue the work that President Trump started last week to begin to create an opening for a broader conversation – that it would involve Ukraine and would involve the end of the war and would involve our allies all over the world, and particularly in Europe, we’re going to explore it if that opportunity presents itself. I don’t have any details for you this morning other than to say that we stand ready to follow the President’s lead on this and begin to explore ways, if those opportunities present itself, to begin a process towards peace.
Now, a process towards peace is not a one-meeting thing. This war has been going on for a while. It’s difficult; it’s complicated. It’s been bloody; it’s been costly. So it will not be easy to end the conflict. There are other parties at stake that have opinions on this as well. The European Union has sanctions as well. The Ukrainians are obviously fighting this war. It’s their country and they’re on the front lines. So one meeting isn’t going to solve it. But I want to reiterate the President made clear he wants to end this war, and if opportunities present themselves to further that, we’re going to take them if they present themselves. We’ll see what happens over the next few days.
QUESTION: But to be clear, Keith Kellogg, who is the envoy appointed to help with these talks, says these are going to be parallel negotiations, meaning the Ukrainians and Russians aren’t talking to each other yet. When you meet with your Russian counterpart, whoever that is, are you going to be sitting there arguing Ukraine’s position?
SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, first of all, I think what we have to understand is right now there is no process.
QUESTION: Right.
SECRETARY RUBIO: What we have right now was a call between Putin and President Trump in which both sides expressed an interest in ending this conflict. I mean, I imagine there will be follow-up conversations to figure out what a process to talk about that would look like, and then at that point perhaps we can begin to share more details. So it’s a bit premature. I know there’s been a lot of reaction to it because there’s been no conversation about it, any serious conversation.
But I want to go back to the point I made. President Trump ran, he was very clear – he thinks this war needs to end. And if he sees an opportunity to end it, which is what he’s looking for, whether there is an opportunity or not, we are going to pursue it. Ultimately, it will reach a point when you are – if it’s real negotiations – and we’re not there yet. But if that were to happen, Ukraine will have to be involved because they’re the one that were invaded. And the Europeans will have to be involved because they have sanctions on Putin and Russia as well and they’ve contributed to this effort. We’re just not there yet. We really aren’t, but hopefully we will be because we’d all like to see this war end.
QUESTION: No doubt. The last administration did have contact through the intelligence agencies with Russia, but they didn’t believe there was any proof that Vladimir Putin was interested in talks. You know the history with Vladimir Putin. He likes to use diplomacy as a cover to distract while he continues to wage war. Do you trust that this time is different?
SECRETARY RUBIO: Yeah, I don’t think in geopolitics anyone should trust anyone. I think these things have to be verified through actions. I said yesterday that peace is not a noun, it’s a verb – it’s an action. You have to take concrete steps towards it.
What I can tell you is I know of no better negotiator in American politics than Trump.
QUESTION: Yeah.
SECRETARY RUBIO: I think President Trump will know very quickly whether this is a real thing or whether this is an effort to buy time. But I don’t want to prejudge that. I don’t want to foreclose the opportunity to end a conflict that’s already cost the lives of hundreds of thousands and continues every single day to be increasingly a war of attrition on both sides. I think everyone should be celebrating the fact that we have an American President that is seeking to promote peace in the world, not start wars but end them, in a way that’s enduring. That’s something we should be happy about. Whether it’s possible or not, we’re certainly willing; but it’s not entirely up to us, obviously, but we’ll find out.
QUESTION: Well, you did speak in a phone call with Russia’s top diplomat, Sergey Lavrov. The Russian side claimed that you discussed restoring trade, which seemed to be a nod to sanctions, easing restrictions on diplomats, and other gestures like a high-level leaders meeting. Are you actually considering – is the Trump Administration considering lifting sanctions on Russia?
SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, the phone call was to establish communications that are consistent with the call the President made last week with Vladimir Putin, because if we are – if there is going to be the possibility of progress here towards peace, we are going to need to talk to the Russians. I mean, that is going to have to happen and we’re going to have to able to do it across our channels.
QUESTION: About lifting sanctions, though?
SECRETARY RUBIO: I also raised in the conversation concerns that – well, we didn’t go into any details. I mean, what we just discussed is basically the ability to begin communicating. I’ve never spoken to Mr. Lavrov in my life, so it was an opportunity for us to begin to open that channel of communication, which, again, if there’s the potential for peace here, that’s a channel that has to exist.
But let me add one more thing. I also raised the issue of our embassy in Moscow, which operates under very difficult conditions. I raised that because it’s important. It’s going to be very difficult to engage in communication with Russia about anything if our embassy is not functioning. And he raised concerns about his diplomatic mission in the United States. So at a very basic level, if in fact there is going to be an opportunity here to pursue peace by engaging with the Russians, we’re going to need to have functional embassies in Moscow and in Washington, D.C., and that’s certainly something foreign ministers would talk about as a matter of normal course.
QUESTION: I want to ask you about what happened in Munich, Germany at the Security Conference. Vice President Vance gave a speech, and he told U.S. allies that the threat he worries about the most is not Russia, it is not China. He called it the threat from within, and he lectured about what he described as censorship, mainly focusing though, on including more views from the right. He also met with the leader of a far-right party known as the AfD, which, as you know, is under investigation and monitoring by German intelligence because of extremism. What did all of this accomplish other than irritating our allies?
SECRETARY RUBIO: Why would our allies or anybody be irritated by free speech and by someone giving their opinion? We are, after all, democracies. The Munich Security Conference is largely a conference of democracies, in which one of the things that we cherish and value is the ability to speak freely and provide your opinions. And so I think if anyone’s angry about his words – they don’t have to agree with him, but to be angry about it I think actually makes his point.
I thought it was actually a pretty historic speech. Whether you agree with him or not, I think the valid points he’s making to Europe is we are concerned that the true values that we share, the values that bind us together with Europe, are things like free speech and democracy and our shared history in winning two World Wars and defeating Soviet communism and the like. These are values that we’ve shared in common. And in that Cold War, we fought against things like censorship and oppression and so forth.
QUESTION: Right.
SECRETARY RUBIO: And when you see backsliding and you raise that, that’s a very valid concern. We can’t tell them how to run their countries. He simply expressed in a speech his view of it, which a lot of people frankly share. And I thought he said a lot of things in that speech that needed to be said. And honestly, I don’t know why anybody would be upset about it. People are – you don’t have to agree someone’s speech. I happen to agree with a lot of what he said, but you don’t have to agree with someone’s speech to at least appreciate the fact they have a right to say it and that you should listen to it and see whether those criticisms are valid. I assure you the United States has come under withering criticism on many occasions from many leaders in Europe, and we don’t go around throwing temper tantrums about it.
QUESTION: Well, he was standing in a country where free speech was weaponized to conduct a genocide, and he met with the head of a political party that has far-right views and some historic ties to extreme groups. The context of that was changing the tone of it. And you know that, that the censorship was specifically about the right.
SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, I have to disagree with you. No, no, I have to disagree with you. Free speech was not used to conduct a genocide. The genocide was conducted by an authoritarian Nazi regime that happened to also be genocidal, because they hated Jews and they hated minorities and they hated those that they – they had a list of people they hated, but primarily the Jews. There was no free speech in Nazi Germany. There was none. There was also no opposition in Nazi Germany. They were a sole and only party that governed that country. So that’s not an accurate reflection of history.
I also think it’s wrong – again, I go back to the point of his speech. The point of his speech was basically that there is an erosion in free speech and in tolerance for opposing points of view within Europe, and that’s of concern because that is eroding – it’s not an erosion of your military capabilities. That’s not an erosion of your economic standing. That’s an erosion of the actual values that bind us together in this transatlantic union that everybody talks about. And I think allies and friends and partners that have worked together now for 80 years should be able to speak frankly to one another in open forums without being offended, insulted, or upset. And I spoke to foreign ministers from multiple countries throughout Europe. Many of them probably didn’t like the speech or didn’t agree with it, but they were continuing to engage with us on all sorts of issues that unite us.
So again, at the end of the day, I think that people give all – that is a forum in which you’re supposed to be inviting people to give speeches, not basically a chorus where everyone is saying the exact same thing. That’s not always going to be the case when it’s a collection of democracies where leaders have the right and the privilege to speak their minds in forums such as these.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, I’m told that we are out of time. A lot to get through with you. We appreciate you making time today.
Secretary Marco Rubio With Margaret Brennan of CBS’s Face the Nation
Interview
February 16, 2025
QUESTION: Good morning and welcome to Face the Nation. We want to begin today with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is in Jerusalem on the second leg of his trip through Europe and the Middle East.
Mr. Secretary, I know it’s the evening hours there and you’ve had a long day. We appreciate your time. You’ve got quite a busy schedule. You met earlier with Prime Minister Netanyahu. He said he’s lockstep with the Trump Administration but he can’t share details on, quote, “when the Gates of Hell will be opened…if all our hostages are not released.”
Did he tell you he wants to keep talks going to get to phase two of this hostage deal?
SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, I think we share a common goal. We want to see every hostage released. Frankly, I think – and the President has said this – we want to see them out as soon as we possibly can. And certainly the world has watched these images of people, and it’s just heartbreaking to remember that some of them have been now almost two years there. It’s a horrifying situation.
So we coordinate and work very close with them. We share the goal that every hostage needs to come home, every single one, without delay. Obviously, the – there are details of how we’re pursuing that and coordinating that we’re not going to share publicly because we don’t want to endanger the hostages and we don’t want to endanger this process. But suffice it to say that if it was up to us, every one of these hostages would be home right now, and we want it to happen as soon as possible.
QUESTION: Okay. So the deal stands?
SECRETARY RUBIO: Again, we want every hostage out as soon as possible.
QUESTION: Okay.
SECRETARY RUBIO: We – and we want to see them home. There are some that are supposed to – under the deal, there are some that are supposed to be released coming up next weekend. We expect that to happen. But we’d like to see them all come out. We’re not going to – we are not in favor of waiting weeks and weeks. Now, that may be the process that’s in place because of the deal, but we would like to see them all out as soon as possible, and we continue to coordinate. And that’s what we’d like to see as the outcome. Who wouldn’t want all these hostages to be home and with their families?
QUESTION: Yeah, understood. I want to ask you about Iran as well. President Trump has said he wants a diplomatic deal with Iran. Are you reaching out to them? And alongside that, does the U.S. support a preemptive strike by Israel on Iran to take out its nuclear program?
SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, first of all, Israel will always have to act in what they believe is their national interest and their national defense, and so I’m not going to speak about whatever strategies they may on this or any other topic.
I will say that we don’t have any outreach from Iran. We haven’t seen any. And ultimately, we’ve seen in the past that efforts that Iran has undertaken diplomatically have been only about how to extend the timeframe but continue to enrich and – in addition to sponsor terrorism, in addition to build these long-range weapons, in addition to sow instability throughout the region. But let’s be clear: There has been zero outreach or interest to date from Iran about any negotiated deal.
Ideally, yeah, I would love to wake up one day and hear the news that Iran has decided not to pursue a nuclear weapon, not to sponsor terrorism, and re-engage in the world as a normal government. We’ve had no indication of any of that – not just now but for 30 years.
QUESTION: So you head from Israel to Saudi Arabia next. I know you’ll be talking about Gaza. But we’ve also learned that Saudi Arabia is trying to facilitate this diplomacy with Russia about Ukraine. Which Russian officials do you expect to be meeting with, and what will the focus of your talks there be? Do you actually believe Vladimir Putin is ready to negotiate and make concessions?
SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, here’s what I know. I know President Trump spoke to Vladimir Putin last week and in it Vladimir Putin expressed his interest in peace, and the President expressed his desire to see an end to this conflict in a way that was enduring and that protected Ukrainian sovereignty and that was an enduring peace – not that we’re going to have another invasion in three or four years. That’s a good call. Now, obviously, it has to be followed up by action.
So the next few weeks and days will determine whether it’s serious or not. Ultimately, one phone call does not make peace. One phone call does not solve a war as complex as this one. But I can tell you that Donald Trump is the only leader in the world that could potentially begin that process. Other leaders have tried; they have not been able to do so. When he ran in his campaign and he was elected as President, one of his promises was he would work to bring an end to this conflict in a way that’s sustainable and fair.
And obviously, this is the first step in that process, but we have a long ways to go. Again, one call doesn’t make it. One meeting wouldn’t make it. There’s a lot of work to be done. But I thought it has – even the longest journey begins with a first step. So we’ll see what happens from here, hopefully good things.
QUESTION: Who will you be meeting with?
SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, nothing’s been finalized yet. I was scheduled to be in Saudi Arabia anyways. We announced that trip a week ago, a week and a half ago. So ultimately, look, if at any point in time there’s an opportunity to continue the work that President Trump started last week to begin to create an opening for a broader conversation – that it would involve Ukraine and would involve the end of the war and would involve our allies all over the world, and particularly in Europe, we’re going to explore it if that opportunity presents itself. I don’t have any details for you this morning other than to say that we stand ready to follow the President’s lead on this and begin to explore ways, if those opportunities present itself, to begin a process towards peace.
Now, a process towards peace is not a one-meeting thing. This war has been going on for a while. It’s difficult; it’s complicated. It’s been bloody; it’s been costly. So it will not be easy to end the conflict. There are other parties at stake that have opinions on this as well. The European Union has sanctions as well. The Ukrainians are obviously fighting this war. It’s their country and they’re on the front lines. So one meeting isn’t going to solve it. But I want to reiterate the President made clear he wants to end this war, and if opportunities present themselves to further that, we’re going to take them if they present themselves. We’ll see what happens over the next few days.
QUESTION: But to be clear, Keith Kellogg, who is the envoy appointed to help with these talks, says these are going to be parallel negotiations, meaning the Ukrainians and Russians aren’t talking to each other yet. When you meet with your Russian counterpart, whoever that is, are you going to be sitting there arguing Ukraine’s position?
SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, first of all, I think what we have to understand is right now there is no process.
QUESTION: Right.
SECRETARY RUBIO: What we have right now was a call between Putin and President Trump in which both sides expressed an interest in ending this conflict. I mean, I imagine there will be follow-up conversations to figure out what a process to talk about that would look like, and then at that point perhaps we can begin to share more details. So it’s a bit premature. I know there’s been a lot of reaction to it because there’s been no conversation about it, any serious conversation.
But I want to go back to the point I made. President Trump ran, he was very clear – he thinks this war needs to end. And if he sees an opportunity to end it, which is what he’s looking for, whether there is an opportunity or not, we are going to pursue it. Ultimately, it will reach a point when you are – if it’s real negotiations – and we’re not there yet. But if that were to happen, Ukraine will have to be involved because they’re the one that were invaded. And the Europeans will have to be involved because they have sanctions on Putin and Russia as well and they’ve contributed to this effort. We’re just not there yet. We really aren’t, but hopefully we will be because we’d all like to see this war end.
QUESTION: No doubt. The last administration did have contact through the intelligence agencies with Russia, but they didn’t believe there was any proof that Vladimir Putin was interested in talks. You know the history with Vladimir Putin. He likes to use diplomacy as a cover to distract while he continues to wage war. Do you trust that this time is different?
SECRETARY RUBIO: Yeah, I don’t think in geopolitics anyone should trust anyone. I think these things have to be verified through actions. I said yesterday that peace is not a noun, it’s a verb – it’s an action. You have to take concrete steps towards it.
What I can tell you is I know of no better negotiator in American politics than Trump.
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