Rubio plans Israel trip as Trump says he’s ‘not happy’ with US-Iran talks Donald Trump News

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to travel to Israel next week as President Donald Trump expresses displeasure with the ongoing negotiations with Iran.

The US State Department issued a notice on Friday that Rubio’s trip will last from March 2 to 3, and that his focus will be on relations with Iran and Lebanon, as well as the implementation of Trump’s 20-point plan for the war-torn Gaza.

This will be Rubio’s fifth trip as secretary of state to Israel, a close American ally. I visited for the first time in February 2025, then in September and twice in October last year.

No other details were provided about the latest diplomatic outing. But it comes at a delicate time for relations in the Middle East.

Just this week, the US and Iran held a third round of indirect talks, this time in Switzerland, as the two sides tried to negotiate a deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program.

A new round of talks will take place in Austria on Monday, the day Rubio arrives in Israel.

Still, Trump used a public appearance on the White House lawn Friday to express frustration at the slow pace of negotiations.

“I’m not happy with the fact that they’re not willing to give us what we need. I’m not excited about that. We’ll see what happens,” Trump said.

“We’ll have some additional discussions today. But no, I’m not happy with the way they’re going.”

Trump added that he was not averse to using the military to achieve his goals. “I’d love to not use it, but sometimes you have to. We’ll see what happens.”

Arriving in Texas, Trump added that he would not be satisfied with Iran simply reducing its uranium enrichment, even for civilian energy projects.

“I’m not saying no enrichment,” Trump told reporters. “Not 20 percent, 30 percent.”

Trump’s latest comments are likely to feed ongoing fears of a military escalation with Iran, a conflict that could spill over into the wider region.

His comments coincided with an email from US Ambassador Mike Huckabee to embassy staff in Israel, giving them permission to leave the country, another sign that simmering tensions may be boiling over.

Huckabee stressed that those leaving “must do so TODAY,” according to media reports. However, he added that there was “no need to panic.”

ON public notice of the US Embassy in Jerusalem acknowledged the authorization to leave, citing “security risks” due to “terrorism and civil unrest.”

“Persons may wish to consider leaving Israel while commercial flights are available,” the notice said.

The State Department also has a statements of Rubio designating Iran as a “state sponsor of unlawful detention.” He also urged US citizens not to “travel to Iran for any reason” or leave immediately if they have already been there.

Threat of Iran attack

However, concerns have grown that the US may seek to take military action against Iran, a long-time adversary of Israel and the US.

Since Januaryhas the administration of US President Donald Trump deployed a “massive armada”. to the waters near Iran, including two aircraft carriers, the USS Gerald Ford and the USS Abraham Lincoln.

Trump has also hinted on several occasions that he is willing to launch an attack, either to enforce a deal to limit Iran’s nuclear capabilities or to intervene on behalf of Iranian protesters.

On January 1, for example, Trump responded to a deadly crackdown on anti-government protests in Iran by placement a message about Truth Social.

It said the US military was “locked and loaded and ready to go” to “rescue” any protesters who might be killed.

More recently, during last Tuesday’s State of the Union address, Trump described his military threats as a successful tactic to stop the execution of protesters.

“We stopped them from hanging a lot of them with the threat of serious violence,” Trump said.

He added that he will not be afraid to act. “I will never hesitate to confront threats to America wherever we have to,” Trump said in the prime-time address, accusing Iran of spreading “nothing but terrorism and death and hate.”

However, on Friday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk signaled this eight protesters was nevertheless sentenced to death, and another 30 are at risk of receiving the same punishment.

Turk also warned against the possibility of military action, highlighting the risk of civilian harm.

“I am extremely concerned about the potential for domestic military escalation and its impact on civilians, and I hope the voice of reason prevails,” he said.

Yet the Trump administration cited human rights

Press an agreement

But the protesters weren’t the only reason Trump cited for his saber rattling.

Trump has also indicated that military intervention may be necessary if Iran does not agree to a nuclear deal.

On February 19, the president told reporters aboard his jet, Air Force One, that Iran had “10, 15 days, almost maximum” to reach a deal with US negotiators.

Should that fail, Trump indicated he would take his “maximum pressure” campaign a “step further,” seemingly implying military action.

“We have to make a meaningful deal. Otherwise bad things happen,” Trump said earlier in the day at the first meeting of his Board of Peace panel.

Iran, meanwhile, has said its position is “close” to that of the US on many issues, but it has called on the Trump administration to drop what it sees as “excessive demands“.

Recent reports have indicated that the US government not only wants Iran to dismantle its nuclear program, but is also seeking to limit its ballistic missile arsenal and tighten its relations with regional allies and proxy groups, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon.

However, Iran has largely dismissed those claims as unrealistic, and it has argued that its nuclear enrichment program is designed to produce civilian energy, not weapons.

It also warned of retaliation if the US went ahead with another military strike.

Last June, the US bombed three Iranian nuclear sites, including the Fordow facility, as part of a 12-day war triggered by an Israeli attack. The Trump administration has dubbed the campaign “Operation Midnight Hammer.”

The latest negotiations seek to forge a new nuclear deal following the collapse of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a multilateral deal that saw Iran scale back its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

But Trump’s decision, during his first term, to withdraw the US, caused the agreement to fall apart. As part of his withdrawal, Trump renewed US sanctions against Iran.

‘There is always a risk’

But pressure on Iran has increased in recent days, particularly as media reports emerged that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN’s nuclear watchdog, had been blocked from accessing the three sites targeted in Operation Midnight Hammer.

The agency indicated that can’t confirm it Whether Iran has suspended nuclear enrichment at the sites, nor can he estimate the size of Iran’s nuclear stockpile.

That news is likely to fuel the Trump administration’s efforts: It has long warned that Iran is seeking a nuclear weapon, a claim Tehran denies.

Still, the government of Oman, which is mediating the talks, issued a statement on a positive note after a meeting between its top diplomat and US Vice President JD Vance.

“His Excellency, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, explained that the negotiations have so far achieved significant, important and unprecedented progress, which could form the cornerstone of the desired agreement,” the statement said.

It added that Oman would continue “its efforts to support dialogue and facilitate rapprochement between the parties concerned” and that diplomatic efforts could resolve the impasse.

Still, as Trump prepared to travel to Texas on Friday, he was asked about the prospect of a military strike that would trigger a wider, protracted regional war with Iran.

He largely deterred the possibility by citing successes with Operation Midnight Hammer as well as his decision to order the assassination of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani in 2020.

“I guess you could say there’s always a risk. When there’s war, there’s a risk in anything, both good and bad. We’ve had tremendous luck,” Trump replied. “Everything is worked out, and we want to keep it that way.”

I called on Iran to negotiate in “good faith and conscience”. Still, he concluded with a note of skepticism: “They’re not getting there.”