Rubio vows US will keep protecting Gulf shipping, says diplomacy with Iran still possible

By Boniface Ihiasota, Washington DC

United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio on Wednesday said Washington would continue military operations to safeguard international shipping routes from Iranian attacks while insisting that the U.S. remained open to a diplomatic resolution of the crisis.

Rubio, who spoke to journalists in Manila, accused Iran of undermining previous commitments by continuing attacks on commercial vessels transiting a key international waterway.

He said Tehran had failed to uphold an earlier understanding that called for unrestricted maritime navigation, arguing that the latest attacks demonstrated Iran was “not serious” about diplomacy.

“We remain open to diplomacy. We remain open to working it out in a negotiated way. But right now, they don’t seem to be serious about that,” Rubio said.

According to him, the U.S. military would continue targeting sites allegedly used to launch attacks against commercial shipping while protecting vessels passing through the strategic maritime corridor.

“Ships are trying to go through the straits, and they’re getting blown up. The United States is defending that shipping and degrading Iran’s ability to target global shipping,” he said.

Rubio also rejected suggestions that Washington’s objective was to force Iran into submission, arguing instead that the U.S. was determined to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

He claimed Iran had spent decades investing heavily in missiles, drones and proxy groups instead of addressing domestic economic challenges, including soaring inflation and rising food prices.

The U.S. Secretary of State urged more countries to join efforts to secure international shipping lanes, saying many nations depended more heavily on the affected maritime route than the United States.

Although Washington had not made fresh requests during meetings with Asian allies in Manila, Rubio disclosed that previous discussions had explored possible contributions, including naval mine-clearing capabilities.

He maintained that the U.S. would prefer a negotiated settlement but insisted that freedom of navigation could not be compromised.

Rubio also confirmed he would meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to discuss the war in Ukraine, saying Washington remained willing to play a constructive role in efforts to end the conflict while pursuing cooperation with Moscow on other strategic issues.

Rubio says US, China preparing for Xi’s Washington visit despite deep differences

By Boniface Ihiasota, Washington DC

U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio on Wednesday said Washington and Beijing were laying the groundwork for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s planned visit to the United States in September, describing continued dialogue between the world’s two largest economies as essential despite persistent disagreements.

Speaking to reporters in Manila after a lengthy meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Rubio said the discussions focused largely on preparations for the high-level visit rather than contentious issues.

“We talked a lot about the visit in September. It was really to create the groundwork for another positive visit,” Rubio said, expressing confidence that Xi would have a “very positive visit” to Washington.

Rubio acknowledged that the United States and China would continue to have significant differences on strategic and security issues but stressed that both countries had a responsibility to prevent those disagreements from escalating into conflict.

“These are the two most powerful countries in the world. We have to have a relationship,” he said.

According to the U.S. Secretary of State, officials from both countries are working to identify areas of cooperation ahead of the proposed summit while managing long-standing disputes.

He also confirmed that both sides discussed implementing new bilateral trade and investment mechanisms that could produce concrete outcomes before Xi’s expected visit.

Rubio said Washington remained committed to freedom of navigation in international waters and reiterated U.S. support for its treaty allies in the Indo-Pacific, including the Philippines.

He disclosed that concerns over China’s activities around Taiwan and in the South China Sea featured during talks with Wang, adding that the U.S. would continue to oppose actions it considers destabilising.

“We’re never going to accept that international waterways are somehow under the control of other countries,” Rubio said.

Drawing a comparison with Cold War diplomacy, Rubio argued that sustained engagement between Washington and Beijing was necessary to reduce the risk of global instability.

“It would be reckless and irresponsible for the U.S. and China not to have a relationship, given the impact our countries have on the global economy and on the world,” he added.

Houthis Claim Missile Strike on Saudi Arabia After Riyadh Bombs Yemen

Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Saturday claimed responsibility for a missile attack on Saudi Arabia’s southern Jizan province, hours after Riyadh carried out air strikes on Houthi positions in Yemen, marking a fresh escalation in the widening Middle East conflict.

The Houthis, through their Ansarollah media platform on Telegram, said the missile attack triggered fires in Jizan and described it as retaliation for Saudi air raids on the Yemeni port city of Hodeida and the nearby Kamaran Island on Friday.

“The Saudi enemy’s targeting of civilian facilities in Hodeida and Kamaran Island constitutes a dangerous escalation,” the group said, adding that the attacks “will not go unanswered.”

Saudi authorities issued emergency alerts for Jizan Province following the reported missile strike but had yet to officially confirm the attack or announce casualties as of Saturday.

The latest exchange of hostilities came amid rising regional tensions involving Iran, the United States and their allies, although there were no reports of fresh US or Iranian air strikes overnight for the first time in two weeks.

The development followed nearly two weeks of sustained military action by Washington, which had carried out 13 consecutive nights of strikes against Iranian targets.

Iran, in turn, has launched multiple drone attacks targeting US military facilities and bases across the Middle East.

Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts appeared to continue behind the scenes as a delegation from Oman arrived in Tehran for talks centred on the strategic Strait of Hormuz, according to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency.

Oman controls the southern coastline of the vital waterway, through which a significant portion of the world’s crude oil exports passes.

Speaking at the White House on Friday, US President Donald Trump said negotiations with Tehran were ongoing but warned that Washington remained prepared to intensify military action if diplomacy failed.

“We are talking to them. I think they’re being serious… but that doesn’t mean we get there,” Trump said.

The US President added that Washington had two options: continuing military operations or reaching a negotiated settlement.

“There’s a military exit where we just keep going… or there’s a smarter strategy that you make a deal,” he said, adding, “We’re locked and loaded. We’re ready to go.”

The US military also disclosed that it had disabled a commercial tanker in the Gulf of Oman after the vessel allegedly attempted several times to breach the American blockade on Iranian ports.

US Central Command spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins said the tanker ignored repeated warnings before US forces fired into its engine room, preventing it from continuing its voyage to Iran.

The incident marked the second commercial vessel disabled by the US since it reinstated its maritime blockade on Iranian ports earlier this month.

The renewed threat to shipping routes in the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz has continued to fuel concerns in global energy markets.

Crude oil prices climbed above $100 per barrel earlier this week on fears of supply disruptions before retreating below $97 on Friday after two Chinese-chartered supertankers successfully navigated the Bab el-Mandeb Strait without incident.

Diplomatic activity is also expected to intensify in the coming days, with the United States and the United Kingdom scheduled to host a high-level conference in London next week on maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine are expected to attend the meeting.

The conference will precede Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s scheduled visit to the White House on Tuesday, where regional security and the escalating conflict with Iran are expected to dominate discussions.

The latest violence has further undermined the June memorandum of understanding reached between Washington and Tehran, which sought to halt hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The agreement effectively collapsed after renewed attacks on shipping in the strategic waterway prompted retaliatory US strikes, with Trump later declaring the ceasefire “over.”