Web Desk/AFP

Middle East

US President Donald Trump says he is expecting Iran’s response to Washington’s latest proposal on a deal to end the Middle East war by “tonight.”; Trump warns Iran against using drones to target US warships; an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon kills four people, including two women; Russia rejects a US-backed UNSC resolution, calling it a provocative effort to isolate Tehran.

Day 70: All you need to know about US-Israel war on Iran

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to join &quot;working-level peace talks&quot; Tuesday with Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad at the State Department, according to the agency&rsquo;s public schedule.&nbsp; According to the schedule shared on the department&#39;s website, the meeting is scheduled for 11 am &nbsp;Eastern Daylight Time (15:00 GMT). The talks mark a rare direct engagement between the two&nbsp;ambassadors in Washington.&nbsp; The discussions are expected to focus on efforts to secure a ceasefire in Lebanon, where Israel has carried out airstrikes and a ground offensive, as well as the disarmament of Hezbollah and a broader peace arrangement.

Hamadeh held meetings at the White House, Treasury, State, DFC, and World Bank focused on airports and ports modernization and strengthening U.S.–Lebanon cooperation.

Americas

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will join Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors for talks in Washington focused on a possible Lebanon ceasefire, Hezbollah disarmament, and broader peace efforts.

US Secretary of State to join direct Israel-Lebanon talks in Washington

<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 600; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: capitalize; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: nowrap; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important;" id="isPasted">WASHINGTON:&nbsp;US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday denied a report that US officials have urged Cuba to oust its president, Miguel Diaz-Canel.&nbsp;In a late-night post on X, Rubio said that the article by The New York Times was &quot;fake&quot; and was among media reports that relied on &quot;charlatans and liars claiming to be in the know&quot; as sources.&nbsp;The newspaper reported Monday that officials under President Donald Trump have asked Cuba to remove the president but have not pushed for a complete toppling of the communist government.&nbsp;Rubio did not say if he was denying the whole article or particular parts of it.&nbsp;The newspaper said that US officials saw Diaz-Canel as a hardliner who would not institute change, but that the United States had not gone so far as to issue an ultimatum for his removal.&nbsp;Rubio, a Cuban-American former senator from Miami, has for years pushed for the end to the communist system in Cuba launched by Fidel Castro in a 1959 revolution.&nbsp;Rubio earlier on Tuesday told reporters that Cuba needed to take more &quot;dramatic&quot; action than new measures to allow overseas Cubans to invest and own businesses in the island, which a day earlier suffered a nationwide blackout.&nbsp;Trump has piled pressure on Cuba, which has been suffering an economic crisis. Trump forced Venezuela to stop sending oil, which made up half of Cuba&#39;s needs, after US forces raided Caracas in January and deposed and snatched the leftist president, Nicolas Maduro.&nbsp;Trump has said that he is interested in an unspecified &quot;deal&quot; with Cuba, but has also boasted that he can take over the country, saying that it is weak.&nbsp;In Venezuela and now in Iran, which he attacked with Israel on February 28, Trump has pursued a strategy not of seeking to overthrow governments but of forcing compliance.&nbsp;Trump has voiced happiness with Venezuela&#39;s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, who was Maduro&#39;s vice president, after threatening her with violence if she does not meet his demands, including preferential treatment for US oil companies.&nbsp;Unlike Venezuela and Iran, Cuba does not have oil wealth, but it carries importance in domestic US politics.&nbsp;Cuban-American lawmakers, mostly part of Trump&#39;s Republican Party, have long pushed for pressure on Havana.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied reports that the US asked Cuba to remove President Miguel Díaz-Canel, calling them false, while tensions and pressure on Cuba continue.

Rubio denies US seeking to oust Cuba president

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio may push back a trip to Israel in which he is expected to speak to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about potential strikes on Iran, a US official said Monday. &quot;Secretary Rubio is still planning to travel to Israel, but the schedule remains subject to change,&quot; the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. Rubio had earlier been expected to meet Netanyahu on Saturday, but Israeli media reports said he was now expected in the country on Monday. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi earlier told CBS News that he expected new talks on Thursday with the United States and held out hope for progress. President Donald Trump has sent a major deployment of air and sea power to the Middle East and has threatened to strike Iran if it does not reach a deal on key concerns starting with its nuclear program. Netanyahu has long advocated a hard line on Iran&#39;s clerical state and last June ordered a 12-day bombing campaign inside the country, which the United States briefly joined. Netanyahu visited Washington on February 11 to speak with Trump, who said afterward that he &quot;insisted&quot; on giving time for diplomacy. Iran has publicly insisted that it has a right to uranium enrichment.

Marco Rubio may push back a trip to Israel in which he is expected to speak to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about potential strikes on Iran

Rubio trip to Israel on Iran tensions 'subject to change'

MUNICH: EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas pushed back Sunday against &quot;bashing&quot; of Europe by the United States, saying Russia must be forced to make concessions in talks to end the war in Ukraine. &quot;Contrary to what some may say, woke, decadent&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/chinese-fm-wants-to-work-with-canadian-counterpart-to-eliminate-interference" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">Europe</a> is not facing civilizational erasure,&quot; Kallas said on the last day of the Munich Security Conference. <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/us-and-europe-belong-together-rubio" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">US Secretary of State Marco Rubio</a>&nbsp;on Saturday reassured allies by saying Washington and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/european-debate-over-nuclear-weapons-gains-pace-at-munich-security-conference" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">Europe</a> &quot;belong together&quot; -- but insisted the continent must defend against mass migration to protect its &quot;civilization&quot;. &quot;The message that we heard is that America and Europe are intertwined, have been in the past and will be in the future. I think this is important,&quot; Kallas said. &quot;It is also clear that we don&#39;t see eye to eye in all the issues, and this will remain the case,&quot; she said. The gathering in Munich has seen European officials insist that the continent must take the lead in its defense in the face of an aggressive Russia and doubts about the reliability of the United States, as President Donald Trump upends ties. &lsquo;Need to reclaim European agency&rsquo;&quot;There is an urgent need to reclaim European agency,&quot; Kallas said. She said European defense &quot;starts in Ukraine&quot; and depends on how Russia&#39;s war ends as the United States pushes efforts to stop the fighting. &quot;Let&#39;s be clear-eyed about Russia. Russia is no superpower,&quot; Kallas said, insisting the country was &quot;broken.&quot; &quot;The greatest threat Russia presents right now is that it gains more at the negotiation table than it has achieved on the battlefield.&quot; Size of Russia&rsquo;s military&nbsp;The EU top diplomat called for the size of Russia&#39;s military to be capped, said Moscow must pay for damages caused, and be held accountable for war crimes. France&#39;s Europe minister, Benjamin Haddad, backed calls for Europe to pay less attention to what the US says and to focus on bolstering its own capabilities. &quot;I think the worst lesson we could draw from this weekend is to say, well, I can cling to some love words that I heard in part of his speech and push the snooze button,&quot; Haddad said of Rubio&#39;s address. &quot;Focus on what we can control, focus on our rearmament, on the support for Ukraine and the threat that Russia poses to all of our democracies.&quot;

Europe

‘Contrary to what some may say, woke, decadent Europe is not facing civilizational erasure,’ says Kaja Kallas on the last day of the Munich Security Conference.

EU top diplomat rejects Europe 'bashing' by US

ISLAMABAD: Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir met with the US Secretary of State&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/rubio-at-munich-security-meet-to-address-europeans-rattled-by-trumphttps://www.pakistantv.com/article/us-and-europe-belong-together-rubio" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Marco Rubio</a>&nbsp;on the sidelines of the 62nd&nbsp;Munich Security Conference, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) reported Sunday. The military&rsquo;s media wing stated that the two leaders discussed &ldquo;matters of mutual interest&rdquo;, including &ldquo;global and regional security dynamics and counterterrorism cooperation.&rdquo; The Field Marshal was on a trip to Germany from Feb. 12-14 to &ldquo;attend meetings on the sidelines of 62nd&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/rubio-at-munich-security-meet-to-address-europeans-rattled-by-trump" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Munich Security Conference</a>.&rdquo; The CDF also met with German authorities, including the Federal Minister of the Interior, Alexander Dobrindt, the Foreign Policy and Security Policy Advisor to Federal Chancellor of Germany G&uuml;nter Sautter, and the German Chief of Defense General Carsten Breuer. The Field Marshal&rsquo;s meeting with the German leaders &ldquo;focused on contemporary security issues, bilateral defense cooperation&rdquo; and the need for &ldquo;promoting global peace and security through bilateral and multilateral dialogue.&rdquo; The CDF held talks with Brazil&#39;s Chief of the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces Admiral Renato Rodrigues de Aguiar Freire, discussing bilateral military cooperation. He also met with the Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces, General Rodolphe Haykal. During the meeting, the military leaders discussed global and regional security issues. They also discussed improving defense cooperation between the two countries.

Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir met with the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the 62nd Munich Security Conference. (ISPR)

Foreign Affairs

The two leaders discussed matters of mutual interest, including global and regional security dynamics and counterterrorism cooperation.

Field Marshal Asim Munir meets US State Secretary on Munich Security Conference sidelines

MUNICH:&nbsp;US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was set to address European leaders on Saturday as they try to step up their autonomy in defense while salvaging transatlantic ties badly strained under President Donald Trump. Bruised by Trump&#39;s designs on Greenland and his often hostile comments about America&#39;s traditional bedrock allies, European leaders gathered at the Munich Security Conference have pledged to shoulder more of the burden of shared <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/in-show-of-support-canada-france-open-consulates-in-greenland" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">NATO defenses</a>. &lsquo;Right time&rsquo;&nbsp;Key leaders have pushed the message that this is essential for Europe to counter a hostile Russia, with NATO chief Mark Rutte saying that &quot;a strong Europe in a strong NATO means that the transatlantic bond will be stronger than ever&quot;. &quot;This is the right time for a strong Europe,&quot; said French President Emmanuel Macron, who stressed on Friday that the continent was &quot;clear in the support of Ukraine&quot; and &quot;building its own architecture of security&quot;. &quot;This Europe will be a good ally and partner for the United States of America.&quot; &lsquo;A sleeping giant&rsquo;British leader Keir Starmer was expected to tell the conference that Europe is &quot;a sleeping giant&quot; and must rely less on the United States for its defense. &quot;I&#39;m talking about a vision of European security and greater European autonomy that does not herald US withdrawal but answers the call for more burden sharing in full and remakes the ties that have served us so well,&quot; he will say, according to his office. Conciliatory choice&nbsp;Rubio is seen as a more conciliatory choice of US envoy, a year after Vice President JD Vance used the same stage to attack European policies on immigration and free speech, shocking European allies. The Trump administration&#39;s new National Security Strategy similarly launched an unprecedented attack against Europeans, charging that the continent is threatened with &quot;civilizational decline&quot;. Ties plunged further last month when Trump stepped up threats to annex Greenland, an autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark, forcing European nations to stand firm in protest. Ukraine war in focus&nbsp;German Chancellor Friedrich Merz acknowledged a &quot;rift&quot; had opened up between Europe and the United States, fueled by culture wars, but issued an appeal to Washington: &quot;Let&#39;s repair and revive transatlantic trust together.&quot; &quot;In the era of great power rivalry, even the United States will not be powerful enough to go it alone,&quot; said the conservative leader, who has ramped up defense spending in the top EU economy. The high-powered Munich meeting of government leaders, diplomats, defense and intelligence chiefs comes shortly before Russia&#39;s full-scale war on Ukraine is set to enter its fifth grueling year. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has been in Munich since Friday and meeting multiple allies, was expected to address the meeting on Saturday.&nbsp; No Russian officials have been invited. &lsquo;Get moving&rsquo;&nbsp;At the White House on Friday, Trump urged him to &quot;get moving&quot; to end the war.&nbsp; &quot;Russia wants to make a deal... He has to move,&quot; the US leader said. A German government source said Merz and Rubio met at the conference Friday and discussed &quot;Ukraine, the status of negotiations with Russia and further support for the country, particularly in terms of military aid&quot;. They also discussed Europe&#39;s role in NATO, and &ldquo;Rubio praised Germany&#39;s steps to strengthen the alliance&rdquo;, the source added. &lsquo;An aggressive Russia&rsquo;Macron said a new framework was needed to deal with &quot;an aggressive Russia&quot; once the fighting in Ukraine ends. Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky said he feared &quot;a new cold war&quot; between Europe and Russia in the coming decade, making reopening dialogue with Moscow essential. &quot;If it makes sense to talk, we are willing to talk,&quot; said Merz, but he also charged that &quot;Russia is not yet willing to talk seriously&quot;.

British leader Keir Starmer is expected to tell the conference that Europe is ‘a sleeping giant’ and must rely less on the United States for its defense.

Articles tagged with "US Secretary of State Marco Rubio"