U.S. Secretary of State says Iran, not Palestine, blocks Middle East peace

Marco Rubio, the U.S. Secretary of State, asserted that Iran, rather than the long-standing Palestinian dispute, is the primary barrier to regional peace, citing Tehran’s backing of Hezbollah, Iraqi militias and Yemen’s Houthis. He highlighted Iran’s direct assaults on Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan as proof of its destabilising agenda. Rubio suggested that a peace process could progress more smoothly if Iran were removed from the equation.

In reaction, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X that Iran has its own “unfinished jobs” and warned against further U.S. attempts to “finish the job.” Meanwhile, President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu exchanged statements linking the fight against Iran to Netanyahu’s electoral prospects, and the IRGC threatened to turn Israel into “scorched earth” if its energy infrastructure were attacked. U.S. travel alerts were issued for twelve Middle Eastern nations, urging heightened vigilance amid rising tensions.